Fear
by Arreku97
Summary: Armin Arlert; a boy who really never had possessed any self respect... He has lost all hope and will he once had... But, he still remains to stick by his friends; as he owes them for all of the years of kindness... He prays, that he one day; will be able to repay them...
1. Consternation

_**Fear: Chapter One**_

_**Consternation**_

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><p>"<em>Get up, cadet!" <em>A burly voice yelled towards a fallen body. His voice, menacing; his poise, intimidating, his glare; terrorizing. Not a shred of leniency in his voice, as it was coated in hostility.

"S-Sorry!" A cadet said nervously, as he shakily made his way back to his feet. He gulped when he stood up, before raising his head to face in front of him. He heard laughs and snickers from other cadet's nearby, his shortcomings; _comedic, _to them.

The commander made his way over to the cadet that was fresh on his feet, and stood directly in front of him; staring dead into his eyes. The cadet was in panic, fear, and paranoia under the commander's gaze... _He felt himself gently begin to shake..._

He continued to stare daggers at the boy until he lowly spoke up. His tone; _threatening..._

_"Cadet; _when I look at you... _I see failure. _I see a cadet, who is about to shit his pants; and in mere seconds, _will die at the hands of a titan. _You look like a _pathetic, helpless, wasteful, _child who is going to die almost immediately. Is this, _true?" _The commander barked at the petite boy, multiple strands of his saliva colliding with the boy's face. He upheld his _deadly _gaze, watching the boy_ shiver _under it...

"N-No s-sir!" The cadet replied timidly, realizing how _helpless _he sounded compared to the confidence in the other cadet's words... He could feel his inside squirm and twist under the gaze of the menacing man in front of him, and he could feel the man taking pleasure in his shortcomings.

The commander let out a small laugh, "_Yes, _this coming from the pip-squeak who can't speak a single _word, _without a stutter... Don't worry, you'll be one of the soldiers _that survive; I _can just, _tell." _The commander spat sarcastically, causing the boy's frown to deepen. His eyes somewhat dropped their tenacity, as he _analyzed _the commander's words to be true. He, was_...weak..._

The commander shook his head, before he suddenly; _spat, _on the petite blonde hair boy's face. The blonde hair boy jumped with wide eyes, as the saliva collided with his skin, and his realization of what had just happened; surfaced... The commander gave a small sinister smile, before he turned away from the boy and began to walk to the next cadet...

The blonde haired boy frowned, as his eyes lost any small quantity of _pride _or _dignity _that they once had. The boy's eyes were now filled with _sorrow _of his own weaknesses... He gently raised his hand to wipe off the spit, when suddenly...

_"Don't even think about it, cadet." A voice yelled, _the blonde haired boy turned his head hastily to the culprit of the voice. He saw the _commander, _standing in front of another cadet... _Yet, _his gaze was still focused harshly upon _the petite blonde boy..._

"I want that saliva to _dry, _on your face. To make you realize, _what you really are. _If I see you try to _wipe it away, _you will lose meal privileges for a _week. _And it will give me even more _temptation, _to beat you _senseless." _The commander threatened, making the blonde boy wince. The petite boy lowered his hand nervously, as he reclaimed his _timid_ posture.

The commander smirked, _"Good." _He spat out lowly, as he then turned to face the next cadet. The blonde boy stared at the floor in _dolor. _

_He had known he was weak... But it never helped it any type of way, when people shoved it down his throat... _

The petite blonde cadet, was none other; _than Armin Arlert. _ A small boy from Shiganshina, accompanied by his friends, _Eren, _and _Mikasa. _

Unfortunately, however; _the three recently were split up in training... _Leaving each, _to fend for themselves... _

Armin had known that it was going to be_ rough... No, not rough... Brutal... _

But he still held high hopes for the three, each; becoming succesful members of the military, and helping to lead the attack on the _superhuman _titans.

He always followed Eren, _through nearly everything; a_s the two always had each other's backs. _Though, _to Armin; _it felt as if Eren and Mikasa did all of the heavy-lifting in their friendship... As Armin felt perpetually useless, as he felt he was a truly worthless friend..._

_He remembered all the times where he was weak, disposable, and too afraid to even try to fight back... _Yet,_ Eren or Mikasa were always willing to selflessly, fight his battles for him... _

He truly wished that he could do something in repayment for Eren's _acts of kindness... _But, _felt as if nothing he said, nor gave was even worth anybody's time nor patience..._

He now, was _almost desperate; _to repay his friends... _He needed to prove something; anything, for somebody to know that he always remembered and cared about what they had done for him..._

He _was willing to follow Eren or Mikasa into the military; _and if the time came, _sacrifice himself for his friends ability to continue their own lives. _He knew the dangers they faced against the titans, _but he felt that within him;_ he could at least hopefully _make the slightest difference..._

_Even if he was just a body, for another titan to consume; he was willing to do it... _Of course, _he was and is scared; _but he felt that he _really had no other purpose in his life..._

The remaining populations of humanity were _terrified _of titans, _and rightly so. _And he felt, _not only to pay his debt to friends, _but to all the _previous sacrifices that humanity had made..._

He needed to _prove, _that though he did _tremble; _there was _bravery _located under all of this weakness... _He wanted to prove it to everybody, his friends; those who doubted him; and his family... _He knew _that it wasn't going to be a trivial task. _

So, _he now stood here; _along with many other cadets, _many in which will die. _And his mind, pointed the overwhelming doubt within him, _that he indeed, was going to be one of the cadets that died._

_But that didn't matter; his life didn't matter, _he just wanted to make sure his friends _were safe... _As they as they were alright, _he could die happily..._

He however, _still felt so damned weak... _As if even if he _did _try, that it would prove to be _utterly futile. _He hoped, _that with training; _he could feel _somewhat _of worth... _But he never held much confidence within himself for such hopes..._

He had watched the other cadets around here, _do average, or do exquisite. _Proving their worth, _within the military. _Armin, however, _through all of his tireless effort, _came up _short _on nearly _everything..._

He prayed that it would get easier; _that he could muster some hidden strength, but this never came..._

_Training was brutal, the weather was scorching; the lessons were severe; _and the cadets around him were _nearly never willing to instruct him, or practice with him... _

Though, _they would practice and train with other cadets; _they would constantly avoid _Armin as nearly everybody figured he was a lost cause... An annoying insect, that was never going to amount to anything... A rookie that was_ _going to die fresh out of the gates..._

Armin continued to try and practice, and train by himself; _even if he was doing all the techniques incorrectly, _he still tried. He put all of his effort into _each _and _every _technique, _yet he still failed on each of the techniques; despite numerous attempts._

The commander too, _knew of the boy's shortcomings. _He used Armin as a _punching bag, _as a way to _motivate _other cadets, _who would actually prove to be succesful in their military career..._

_Armin tried his best to ignore all of these negative factors... But... When the boy was alone, he felt each, and every one of them resurface... His stifled sobs and cries were ridiculed by other cadets, and upon finding out; the commander himself too._

_He couldn't help it... He felt, so... pathetic... _

As if his life _were nothing... A fickle hope, but nothing to depend on..._

_He now stood here; confidence vanished, hope lost, and his will, nearly decimated; but..._

_He was willing to at least... try... and at least give his remaining effort... to help the world... To help mankind... To help..._

_His friends..._

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><p><span><em><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>_

_**Hey all! :) I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading! I really enjoyed writing this, and am looking forward to the continuation of this story! ^_^ So, I hope you enjoyed! Thanks again for reading! I really appreciate it! :)**_

_**Thanks again! :D**_


	2. Ambition

_**Fear: Chapter Two**_

_**Ambition**_

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><p>Armin sighed, as he continued to stand outside in the dusk... The weather was harsh, as the temperature dropped rapidly... He was forced to sit outside until dusk, by the leading military commander; and his continuation to use Armin as a toy in front of his other cadet's.<p>

He hadn't been able to even _move _for what had been hours, he just sat there; as he slowly and wearily watched the sun go down...

The other cadets would occasionally come out and snicker at the boy, his dismay pleasing their feared appetites; as for once, they could dominate someone who was weaker, rather than being dominated by the _titans. _

Armin honestly though, that the _cadets themselves, _had nearly as much of a vendetta against him, as the commander did... It made his nights even more filled with _anxiety and paranoia, _as he was never sure if they would for their pleasure, _attack him at night..._

The boy continued to stare at the ground, as the saliva had finally somewhat dried on his face... His legs were screaming for _rest, _but they had to maintain until he got word from the commander that it was an end, to what the commander called his, 'punishment for weakness'.

Armin looked up hesitantly, hoping nobody was there... He saw open doors, that led to the _cafeteria, _as he saw many cadets chewing away at their meals; and chuckling with one another at the day's events...

_The boy was starving... _His eyes _widened in hunger, _as he saw each of the cuisines, as their linger smell tickled the boys nasal sense. It had become a common punishment for weakness to have the cadets, _skip meals... Yet, _Armin was unable to perform many of the _physical tasks. _Forcing the boy to skip _many, _and _many meals..._

_The boy hadn't eaten for two days now... And it felt like his body was going to break down on him at any second..._

The only times where he had achieved the exercises, were when they had some type of _mental _challenge. As, he could easily muster a plan; and quickly pass the excercise... Yet... It seemed that nobody had noticed the boy's _intellectual properties. _

Suddenly, Armin noticed a _blonde cadet sitting in the cafeteria; with a cold looking glare accompanying her face, _looking towards him. She had _caught his glare, _much to his dismay.

_The boy quickly looked towards the ground. _He inwardly cursed himself, for even _looking in the first place..._

He hadn't met that certain cadet he _just saw... Nor, knew her name... But, _she had a reputation of being horribly strict, rugged, and incredibly powerful... He really didn't want to get on her _wrong side..._

He nervously began to twiddle his fingers, as his hands were still in unison _behind him... He really didn't want to look up,_ as he was worried the girl's glare would still be irritably placed upon him.

Suddenly, _out of all the noise and commotion from the cafeteria; he heard foot steps approaching him..._

_"O-Oh no..." _He thought nervously, as he _had a suspicion as to who those footsteps belonged to. _

_Suddenly, _as he continued to look towards the floor; _he saw a pair of black boots halt in front of him..._

_The boy gulped... _As he hesitantly raised his head , when he looked up, he saw a familiar set of _blonde hair. _And once more a _cold glare shot at him, _now however, just feet away_... _He winced nervously under her gaze, _as his eyes continued to widen in fright. _

_Immediately, Armin decided it was best to just apologize... Hopefully, she wouldn't be too angry... He wasn't even staring at her; he was just looking towards the food..._

_"M-Miss, I-I'm sorry... I-I really didn't mean to interrupt your meal... P-Please, forgive my intrusions..." _Armin said shakily, as he felt his weakened state and his fear overwhelm him...

He saw the girl keep a continued cold glare, but watched her eyebrow raise... It seemed that _confusion _lingered in her hostile eyes...

"_What,_ are you apologizing for?" She spat out towards the boy with no signs of_ emotion_, as she wasn't sure of the reason of the boy's apologies; _but thought of it as a sign of weakness..._

The boy hesitated, as he thought of his next words carefully...

"_I just... I thought, y-you were upset... B-Because... I-I d-didn't mean to look towards you..." He spoke cautiously, as he didn't want to upset the girl; and chose to be careful with each of his words. _

The girl narrowed her eyes towards the boy, _analyzing him... _She could see his _intimidation, fear, and nervousness; _all affecting his _features... He was just another unworthy cadet, in her mind._

_"No. I just wanted to know on what manner was it, that you were standing out here." She spoke firmly, _as once again; her words were traced with nothing. Blank, and uncaring.

_"O-Oh, I just... I was put out here, because I wasn't... strong enough..." _His words lowered in volume near the end, as signs of sorrow became evident in the boy's voice. His gaze matched his tone of voice, as it began to looks downwards with his words, towards the floor.

Annie looked towards Armin for a moment, almost scanning him... She then, after a few seconds of silence... _Spoke up..._

_"Makes sense." She concluded coldly, _as she turned away from the boy._ She began to slowly walk away from the boy; when suddenly, he spoke up..._

_"H-Hey!" The boy spoke in panic as he looked up. _ He almost didn't acknowledge the words that came from his mouth, as everything still seemed to be in a malnourished haze after not eating for so long...

The girl stopped in her tracks; as she looked over her shoulder to the boy slowly, as her eyes narrowed in confusion.

"What?" She spat out coldly towards the boy, as her patience was running _thin..._

_Armin spoke without realization, as his instincts overtook his body..._

"W-Would you... P-Please... I would never ask this... _But..." Armin eyes widened in shock at his own words, "I haven't eaten for two days, and t-they aren't going to feed me tonight... W-Would you... please get me a piece... of b-bread...please?" Armin spoke timidly, as he felt himself begin to slowly shake..._

_Why, and what was that? Why did he ask her? What made him...Do it? He didn't even feel like it was him saying it... Was it... Hunger?_

She stood there for a moment, as her face turned back to in front of her. As she processed the words, she continued to sit there as she looked towards the floor...

She then suddenly began to walk towards the cafeteria, as her foot steps echoed through the night... He watched her walk back into the cafeteria, as she never spoke in response to the boy...

Armin frowned in horror, as he expected that result... It was a _stupid question, _and he didn't even feel like _he, _was the one who asked it... _What was coming over him? _

He lowered his gaze to the ground once more, as he realized the mistake he made was a costly one... _Not only did he most likely get on the bad side of the wrong person, but now he showed his weakness even more obviously..._

He continued to make mistakes like these all the time... Just now... _His friends weren't there to save him... _

_His mind wondered... Why did he do things like this...? Would he always do things like this...? _

He felt so damned helpless whenever people were _looking down on him... He wanted so desperately to prove them all wrong... But truthfully... never could..._

Suddenly_; he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination... _But a pair of black boots, once more halted on the ground in front of him.

He hastily looked up towards the culprit, and once again; saw the cold looking blonde standing in front of him...

She suddenly, stretched out her arm; as a _small piece of bread was held out in her hand towards the boy..._

The boy's eyes widened in hope, as he stared at the girl's hand for a few seconds to make sure that this was indeed, not some imagery.

He looked up towards the girl nervously, with wide, hopeful eyes, and raised brows... _Just to clarify the bread was for him... Just in case..._

She raised her brow in confusion, as she narrowed her eyes towards the boy.

"Take it." She said stiffly, as her words were unfeeling; yet, _they gave boy a small amount of hope, that maybe the days ahead would be brighter. _

_The boy gave a small thankful smile, "T-Thank you!" He cried out in glee, as his gaze dropped towards her hands, as his hands slowly made their ways to her to take the bread... _

_Suddenly, _the girl took a step back away from the boy; while still facing him. An extremely cold and unsympathetic look on her face.

_The boy looked up towards her face, as a small frown of confusion became evident upon it..._

Promptly, _the girl dropped the piece of bread towards the floor; _and harshly stomped once upon it,_ crushing and dirtying the piece of bread entirely..._

_The boy's eyes widened in horror, as his gaze had been; and was, focused on the small piece of bread the whole time... His mouth was timidly gaped open, _as he slowly looked back up towards to the girl's face in fright.

_"I will not, be a charity; for the weak." She spoke aggressively, as she turned away from the shocked boy and walked back towards the cafeteria..._

The boy felt his hope instantly _shatter... _As nearly all of his remaining courage, _was abolished. _As he watched the girl enter the cafeteria_, he looked back down towards the destroyed nourishment, as he hunched over it woefully... _

_His face frowned with despair, as he felt his eyes slowly start to water with their dejection... _

_He truly, was... worthless..._

Suddenly; _he felt his body shake, as randomly, everything slowly started to fade to darkness. As his strength vanished, the feeling of his body left him..._

The last thing he saw..._ was the_ _decimated piece of bread... _

_Before everything turned to black..._

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><p><strong><span><em>To Be Continued...<em>**

**_Thanks for reading! :) I hope you enjoyed! Hopefully, this chapter was a bit better than the last haha. ^_^ I am still thinking of the story as I continue writing this, but I'm having fun; so I hope you all enjoy reading this! :) Thanks for reading this again! And I hope you enjoyed! :D_**


	3. Impulse

_**Fear: Chapter Three**_

_**Impulse**_

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><p>"Yes... <em>Yes, <em>I see..." A voice broke through the darkness, as everything still seemed so blurry, and disoriented...

"So; how long will he be?" Another darker voice asked sternly, with the slightest amount of agitation in his voice...

_Everything still seemed dark, black; and... What exactly was happening...? Was this even..._

_Reality?..._

_"He shouldn't be long; _he just needed some nourishment... It could be a day, or a few hours... _Only time will tell, unfortunately..." _Once again; a voice rung through the everlasting shadow, yet it almost seemed as if...

_There was a light appearing, at the end of the darkness... Yet... It was approaching, ever so slowly..._

"Good. _The maggot better get up by today, or else he will lose any place in the military. _And honestly, _it would make me glad if that were the case." The voice spoke sternly, _as foot steps followed shortly after; becoming quieter with each and every step.

Suddenly, the darkness seemed to fade... _No, he wasn't going to lose his position in the military... He was not going to let this slip through his fingers... _

_Suddenly, _light began to overwhelm the darkness; as the light blinded any _view there once was..._

After the light adjusted properly, _multiple objects began to take their silhouettes; _as everything became more and more_ clear... _

_Armin slowly started to break through all of the restraints holding him from reality..._

Suddenly; _everything began to slowly become clear... _

He was in a small room, a window right by his side; as the _harsh _light emanating for the sun poured in...

He was located on a small bed; without any blankets. He looked around him and saw a few tiny end tables, and a man sitting in a chair with a desk in front of him; turned away from Armin.

Armin had noticed that the man was intently focused on his paperwork; _he looked like a doctor that was specifically designated for military purpose._

Armin felt his head _aching... _He gently raised his hand towards his head, and noticed a _bandage wrapped around his head... _

_He felt the bandage thoroughly, as he touched each part; wondering as to why it was there... _

Promptly, upon him searching the bandage with his hand; _a sharp pain shot through his head as he touched the back of his skull; _he let out a small _yelp of pain..._

_This seemed to catch the doctor's attention, _as he looked over his shoulder to check up on the boy's situation...

"Ah, you're awake. Good." The doctor spoke softly, as he turned his head towards his paperwork once more, as Armin let his hands gently drop to his sides.

He watched as the man then, turned his gaze away from his paperwork, sat up; and turned towards Armin. He spoke up, as he slowly began to approach the boy.

"How are you feeling?" He spoke in question, as he watched the boy's face for a reaction. He halted as he was mere feet away from the boy's side, by the bed.

"I-I'm alright, t-thank you..." Armin spoke up timidly, as he couldn't lie; his head ached... But honestly, he didn't remember _anything... _And was glad that he _did not have more, serious injures; _other than this one...

"I am glad to hear. Well, if your feeling up to it; whenever you are ready, you may take your leave." The doctor spoke promptly, as he realized that he made many other cadets; that would also need his assistance.

Armin shakily nodded, as he then; looked back down towards his legs... He was still in a state of confusion, and was curious as to _what was going on..._

"_Well?" _The doctor spoke impatiently, as he crossed his arms. He was hoping that the boy, upon gaining consciousness; _would leave so other people could get medical attention..._

Armin hastily looked back up towards the doctor; as he shakily sat up, and turned as his feet touched the floor...

"_S-Sorry..." _Armin said, as his tone of voice spoke in distress. He looked up towards the doctor, as he stood up entirely...

"_If I may ask..." Armin began hesitantly, "h-how exactly did I get here...?" _ Armin concluded nervously; as he looked up towards the doctor.

"Well," the doctor began with a chuckle, "you were extremely malnourished... You collapsed. Your body simply couldn't take it anymore. But, we injected you with some good stuff; that should make you feel all better." The doctor spoke, almost humorously.

"O-Oh..." Armin spoke timidly, as he looked downwards... He started to remember _images from last night... _

_He remembered how awful he felt as dusk approached... He remembered how tired he was... He remembered the other cadets snickers... He remembered..._

_Oh no..._

The doctor seemed confused at the boy just staring at the floor, as he watched the boy's eyes widen over time as well...

He waved his hand in front of boy's face; as he looked down towards him...

"Hello? _You there?" _The doctor spoke curiously, as he continued to wave his hand. His brows raised in confusion as he did so.

Suddenly, this had caught the boy's attention. The boy jumped after a few seconds of the doctor speaking and waving his hand...

He looked back up towards the doctor... As a panic ridden expression came over his face.

"R-Right sorry," Armin began to hurriedly make his way to the door, "T-Thank you!" Then, Armin quickly left the room.

The doctor sat there in a moment in confusion, as he had watched the boy the whole time; and was not entirely sure what had exactly, brought that reaction on...

Armin quickly ran down the halls, as he exited the building in a flash; many of the people located within the building, stood there in confusion as they had watched the boy's actions.

"Hmm. I wonder what that was about..." The doctor spoke up lowly, as walked back to his desk and resumed his work; awaiting his next patient...

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><p><em><span><strong>Later...<strong>_

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><p>Armin quickly ran through the streets, as he still didn't haven his full strength; <em>but he needed to get back to the military base quickly...<em>

He couldn't believe he had asked that girl _that damned stupid favor... He really still couldn't believe he asked that..._

He quickly ran, as he wasn't sure why; _but he felt compelled to apologize to the girl... He really felt the necessity to hopefully, make everything right again... _

Though, as he began to approach his destination; _he really wasn't sure if anything was right in the first place... He still felt out of place compared to the other cadets..._

But he still needed to do the right thing, _it was a stupid, half-wit question; _and he wanted to make it right... _He was asking her to break the rules for him... It... was definitely not the most, wise of questions..._

_As he approached the familiar buildings, he felt relief hit him... _

He saw cadets lined up as the commander addressed them, all formally arranged in lines; as they faced the commander as he spoke loudly addressing all of them.

As Armin made his way closer, he furthest line; as he looked around for the person of desire...

He looked through multiple sets of hair, and _nothing... None of them being the familiar blonde hair he saw previously. _

He frowned, as he continued to look through all of the heads of his fellow cadets.

Suddenly... _He saw a familiar shade of light blonde hair... It was pressed in it's familar, tied back fashion... It had to be her. A gleeful smile was plastered on the boy's face upon the realization. _

_He quickly ran around the cadets, as she was in the front row. _He saw as the other cadets began to look in his direction, confused as to why the boy was running hastily.

Armin continued to run, as he eventually made his way to the row before the very front row. The commander suddenly started to notice a small figure rapidly moving, on the side of all of the cadets; but wasn't sure if it was a fellow general; or a cadet...

Armin quickly ran around the row, as he ran in front of very front row, and began to run in the girl's direction.

The commander narrowed his eyes, as he fully turned his head towards the boy; now running in front of the very front row. He scanned the figure, as he finally realized who the_ person was... _

"_Arlert!" He spoke up in fury, _as he was confused as to what the motive of the boy's actions _were. _

_However, the boy ignored him; he continued to run in his direction, infuriating the commander ever much more so.  
><em>

The commander slowly followed the boy, as the boy was mere feet away from approaching his destination...

As the boy came close to the girl, even she along with the other cadets, turned their heads from looking directly in front of them; to see what the _commotion was about..._

As he arrived in front of the girl, a mere foot away from here; the girl's eyes widened in confusion, as she looked down at the boy.

The boy panted, as he looked downwards; before looking up with slightly wide-eyes, and a smile. The boy hastily spoke up, though his voice was timid; he needed to address the situation.

"I-I still don't know w-who you are, or your n-name I m-mean... _b-but... I just wanted to say I'm so sorry, for yesterday... I apologize for what I asked, it wasn't in the rules... And it was wrong, s-so please... forgive me..." The boy spoke hastily, as he was slightly nervous; and quickly bowed to the girl after he concluded his words. _

The girl looked to the boy_ wide-eyed, _as he was still bent over in bow; _she was not only shocked... but... slightly confused... She noticed the bandage, now accompanying the boy's head... _

_What was it, that happened?_

_She stomped on the bread... And destroyed it... And he was apologizing... To her..? _

After a few seconds, and out of her shocked state; she heard some snickers from the other cadets...

"_Look's like somebody has got a crush on Annie!" One of the cadets yelled out, _while many of them burst out in laughter.

Annie quickly turned her head, as she shot a _death glare _in the direction of the voice...

Upon recognizing what the person had said, Armin quickly raised himself up; as he did, he waved his hands in front of his face as a crimson color tainted his cheeks... Annie turned back towards the boy in front of her, as she heard him straighten himself up.

"N-No! _I didn't m-mean it like that! I-I just meant, that I w-was-" Suddenly, _Armin was halted; _as a hand pulled the back of his collar, pulling the boy from his position._

"_Arlert! What the hell is wrong with you?!" The general yelled, _he seethed in rage as the boy turned to face him... Armin saw the general's eyes narrowed in absolute fury towards him...

Armin frowned as he inwardly began to panic. His eyes went wide in nervousness, _he wasn't sure what he should say... _

"I-I-I'm sorry general,_ I j-just made a m-m"- He was halted once more, as the general screamed in the boy's face._

"_I don't want to hear it! I am so sick, of your shit; Arlert! No cadet, has managed to piss me of, as much as you! If we weren't so damned short handed, I have stripped you and kicked you out a while ago!" The commander spat out in anger at the boy, his spit colliding on the boy's face. _Armin winced under his gaze, his saliva colliding with him, and _his words..._

"_I-I'm s-sor-" _The boy was cut off once more, _however this time... It wasn't by a voice..._

The commander had gripped Armin, _by the neck; and hoisted the boy in the air... _The boy couldn't breathe, as all of the air that went to his lungs was cut off_... _He held his small hands up to the commander's massive hand, to try and break the grasp; _but it was of no use..._

Many cadet's gasped, _as their eyes widened in shock... They had never seen the commander get this intense, or go this far before..._

_Even Annie felt a small twinge of guilt muster in her stomach... Her eyes were slightly wide aswell at the commander's action, as her lips were contorted in a frown..._

The boy's face started to turn blue, as _felt his strength rapidly fading away... _He continued to desperately struggle under the commander's grasp. His legs shot in all directions, as their desperation matched his other limbs in attempts to _break free..._

_The commander watched as the boy's struggles slowly died down, as his eyes started to lose their life... He smirked; as he was pleased at his work to break the boy... _

_Suddenly, _the boy's limbs fell limp; as it nearly seemed all life had _left the boy... _

_The commander continued to smirk; as he dropped the boy to the floor, the boy fell entirely on the ground... _

_He didn't move, nor struggle... He was merely an idle rag doll..._

_Once more, the boy was unconscious... _

The boy's breathing was shallow, as some of the cadets had even thought the boy was just _killed entirely... _

Annie felt the remorse, _smother her inwardly more and more... Why the hell was this bugging her? She had seen worse things in her life, nothing had been a delicacy; so why was this bugging her...? _

"_Look's like somebody is going back to the medical station." The commander joked, _as he shook his head down towards the boy with a smirk.

He then, mirrored actions from yesterday; as he _spat on the boy once more... Afterwards, he turned and made his leave. _

"_You're all dismissed." The commander spoke sternly, as a smug pleasure of breaking the boy filled within him..._

Annie winced upon seeing this_... _This commander_... He wasn't just disciplining Armin... He had a damned vendetta against the boy... _

She watched as the other cadet's began to turn in separate directions, _none really caring about the well being of the boy..._

She continued to maintain her position however, as she waited for the other cadets to _clear out... _

_She thought of her upcoming actions as weakness, and didn't want any one else to witness them but herself..._

After a few minutes, the cadets had cleared out entirely... She then made her move...

She walked up to the unconscious boy, as she sat down upon her knees upon arriving beside him... She kept her cold gaze plastered upon her face the whole time...

She then picked up his wrist, and checked his pulse; to make sure he was going to live...

'_Good...' Annie thought in relief, 'It's shallow... But steady...' _She concluded, as she then made arms go under the boy's back, and the back of his knees.

In a swift motion, she picked the boy up in her arms... She then afterwards, stood up more cautiously than normal, _as she now had a boy who just nearly died in her arms..._

She looked down towards the boy for a moment, as she frowned... She _couldn't help but feeling contrite with her actions last night..._

She turned with the boy in arms, and began to slowly walk towards the medical facility... As she walked, her mind couldn't help but wonder a _question that repeated in her head..._

'_This boy... He isn't made for the military... Yet, he tries as hard as he can, every time... But... What for?' Her mind wondered, as she looked down on the unconscious boy with a cold glare._

_She realized, she wasn't going to be able to rest, until she found out the reason for the boy's actions..._

_Yet... She still wasn't sure, why she felt compelled to care about this situation..._

_What was different... from all of the other times?_

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_

_**Hi! :) I hope you enjoyed reading, I had fun writing this! Thanks for reading, and thanks for the support! ^_^ I hope you enjoyed it! :D Thanks again! ^_^**_


	4. Timorous

_**Fear: Chapter Four**_

_**Timorous**_

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><p>"Hmm. <em>Two visits to the hospital in a day. That's quite unlucky..." <em>The doctor spoke with a sigh, as he looked down at the boy on the small bed. He hunched over to get a closer look at the boy.

Annie leaned on the wall near the corner, as she watched the doctor examine the boy closely... She kept her arms crossed, as she kept a bored tone to her face; as she showed little, to no interest.

"Hm... It appears he has some bruising around his neck... He was..._strangled?" _The doctor spoke in curiosity, as he turned his heads towards Annie with a raised brow.

_"Yeah..." _Annie spoke quietly, as she looked towards the doctor confirming his guess. She then turned her head to the ground, as she plastered a bored look upon her face once more...

_"Hmm..." _The doctor ran his hand through his short, brown hair; as he looked towards Armin...

Annie noticed that the doctor had looked exhausted... She had seen this doctor previously on injuries; and he usually kept clean shaven, and all of his garments would be _tucked in properly... _

_However... He now had a full five o'clock shadow, with bags under his eyes... _His glasses were dirty, as all of his clothing flew freely... _Multiple stains of blood were against his garments for previous more serious injured patients..._

_"You know..." _The doctor spoke up, as he looked towards Armin...

"_He really needs to be more careful. There are titans out there, _and he is nearly getting killed by his_ own kind. Either he is really pissing people off or... _People simply just don't like him. " The doctor spoke sternly, as he backed away from the boy; and sat in the chair positioned on the side of the bed...

"Yeah, I realize that." She spoke calmly as she continued to look towards the floor. This isn't what she had planned today, _she wanted to get as much training in as possible before the exams... _Not babysit some damned,_ weak fool. _

Suddenly, she heard footsteps; as she then looked up, and saw that the doctor was leaving the room... She spoke up to stop the man in his tracks.

"Hey, aren't you going to give him something? Like some type of drug, or stabilizer?" She spoke sternly; as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

The doctor halted, as he then turned to face the girl. He pushed his glasses further up upon his face as he did so. He then looked towards the girl, and gave her an answer.

"Well. I could technically, give him some painkillers. _But; _I'd rather save those for more serious patients, as he'll recover over time... He may suffer some slight discomfort, but other than that; _he'll be fine." _The doctor spoke confidently, as he kept a positive glare upon his face. He then turned once more, as he walked out of the room.

_"Psh," _Annie looked downwards once more, "_any other injures usually leave the recipient disabled and useless. If he were to get some, at least he could get to training... And get the hell off my back." _She mumbled under her breath, _yet; _she did realize that the painkillers would be more handy to people who had lost _limbs, _or had serious wounds against the titans...

_She just wanted to get this damned kid off her back..._

She wasn't even sure why she felt _guilty, _in the first place... Why did she have to? _He was weak, and got his rightful punishment. _

Weakness is intolerable, and will lead to _death. Wall Maria was a testament to that specific statement..._

Suddenly; _she realized she'd had enough of this... _

It was time to leave, _she needed to get back to her training; _and she had no _debt _to repay to this boy...

Annie quickly, straightened herself; as she no longer leaned on the wall. She then began to walk, as she let her arms fall to her side.

As she walked, she had just made it to the doorway; _when..._

_"H-Hey..." _A familiar voice spoke up nervously, causing Annie to stop in her tracks. The voice seemed in _discomfort, _as it was _bleak and nearly silent... He still seemed to be in pain..._

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly upon hearing the voice, she turned back towards the direction of the bed...

She now saw the boy, who was still laying down in the exact same position... Yet his head was turned towards her... And his eyes seemed... _Forlorn... _His frown mirrored his eyes, as his entire gaze seemed _dejected..._

_"What?" _She spat irritably_, she didn't have time for this... _She gave the boy a cold glare, as she wanted the boy to leave her alone; _once and for all. _

"I-I j-just..." He stuttered nervously as he looked downwards, "W-Was wondering how I g-got here... I-I'm s-sorry..." The boy seemed flustered, as he timidly spoke his words through a frown; the girl usually seemed emotionless... But this was the first time he saw her somewhat _agitated..._

The girl sighed in frustration, "You have a knack for upsetting people. That's how." She spoke coldly, as she narrowed her eyes in anger at the boy...

"O-Oh... _I can't remember very well... I just remember..." _Armin chose his words carefully,_ "c-conversing with you... Did I... u-upset you?" _Armin questioned timidly, as he looked towards the girl in confusion... _His dejected frown and eyes still apparent..._

"No; it was the commander once again. Don't you remember anything?" She spoke in spite, as she wanted to get out of this room as soon as possible... _Why the hell wasn't she just ignoring the boy, and leaving...? _

"N-No... _not really..." _The boy spoke honestly, as he hesitantly looked back towards the ceiling...

"He really hates me... But I can't really _blame him... I'm a nuisance..." The boy spoke woefully, _as his frowned deepened. He gently clenched his hands, as he felt his sorrow begin to swell; within his stomach...

Annie rolled her eyes; _she had to time for him to whine either. _She didn't want to deal with this, she then turned once more; and began to make her way_ out..._

_The boy looked towards the girl hastily."W-Wait!" The boy timidly yelped; _as he stopped the girl once more in her tracks.

This was now aggravating the girl greatly, in a flash; she turned around with gritted teeth and looked to the boy in fury once more.

_"What?!" _She yelled in rage towards the boy, causing the boy to wince... Her hands were firmly clenched at her side, as her posture wore an aggressive pose.

The boy fumbled slightly, _"I-I-I w-was umm... I-I j-just was wondering... W-Was it y-you, that b-brought m-me here...? _The boy stuttered nervously, as he looked downwards; trying to avoid the resenting glare of the girl.

The girl slightly eased herself at the tone of his question, the boy seemed to be _intimidated quite easily... She wasn't even trying to put fear in the boy... _He was just straining her patience...

"Yes." She spoke truthfully, as her posture now was much more relaxed; and somewhat remorseful for _her aggression... _

A small smile grew on the boy's face, as his eyes became slightly more cheerful. He wasn't sure why, but he was _glad that it was her... Rather than somebody else..._

"Th-_Thank you." _The boy chimed happily, as though he had heard pleasant news; _he still kept his constant nervousness and his general timorous. _

The girl's frown deepened; _why did he always say sorry, or thank you; when it shouldn't be said...? Any cadet should have done it... It was nothing else than that..._

Annie knew she needed to get the hell out of this room... _This whole situation was growing extremely tiresome..._

The girl then, turned; _and was finally able to walk away, and leave entirely. _

The boy had watched the girl leave with slightly wide and surprised eyes,_ he slowly frowned as he was hoping for a reply or response from the girl... But it seemed she had spoke all the words she wished to..._

The boy let his head turn, and his gaze return towards the _ceiling... _

_He bit his lip, as a smile crept upon his face once more... _His eyes grew hopeful, as maybe...

_'Maybe it won't be as bad as I thought...' _Armin thought hesitantly, as the girl still seemed like such a mystery...

She was emotionless, brutal and a loner; _yet... There was something else..._

Armin couldn't pinpoint why his curiosity wandered around the girl, yet; _it didn't upset him either..._

_'Maybe... It's just my imagination... It's been a hectic last two days, after all...' _Armin thought in contemplation, as he slowly closed his eyes...

_'...Rest should clear my mind...' Armin thought peacefully, as he couldn't help but notice; it seemed as if there was a new light in the darkness..._

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>_

_**Hey! :) Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! :D This is fun to write! So I hope everything looks good! ^_^ Thanks again for reading, and your continued support. I hope you all enjoyed once more, and thanks again! :)**_


	5. Discernment

_**Fear: Chapter Five**_

_**Discernment**_

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><p>Armin slowly walked back towards the location of the military cadet training area. He luckily, was released and once more warned about the dangers of his previous injuries.<p>

He was kept overnight, so that the swelling around the boy's neck could decline before he- once more, participated in military exercises.

He couldn't help but be slightly gloomy every time he came to the conclusion, that his injures were usually directly or indirectly caused by the general... He realized that he would need to keep his guard up much more around the strict man.

He would usually relax his tense and anxious nerves, by always telling himself...

'_When this is over... I'll be able to see Eren and Mikasa again...'_

Though it was possible to _die _in training, Armin never for a second believed that Eren, nor Mikasa would be deceased by the time these military scrimmages and auditions were completed.

Armin sighed as he saw the small buildings that housed the cadets, he wasn't exactly _thrilled to see the person in command once more..._

His mind couldn't help but wonder as he continued to approach his destination, where the emotionless and sometimes; _frightening, _pure-diamond blonde haired girl was currently located at...

As Armin finally made it to the buildings of the training area, he realized cadets were luckily not in formation as they were previously. It was honestly a relief to Armin, as he realized hopefully for that day... He wouldn't be used as a damned puppet by the leading general once more...

He slowly walked into the cadets quarters and noticed that no one was currently occupying the residence...

He figured they were either most likely, _eating_; or training in a location that was currently_ not _the area that Armin occupied...

Armin hesitantly exited the building, as he decided to make his way towards the dining hall. He let out a small, saddened sigh as he looked towards the rugged dirt below... He couldn't help but feel slightly _despondent_ at once again missing training...

He really needed any extra physical practice before the _upcoming exams..._

He however lifted his head once more, as he made it to the entrance of the dining hall.

His stomach sank, as he heard complete silence before opening the door. _He already knew the answer before opening the door..._

As he opened the door, he slowly walked in and looked around...

_It was entirely vacated. _

Armin stood there for a moment, with a sorrowful frown. He began to consider his present options...

'_I guess... I could train... Or... Maybe take a walk around town...?' _He thought to himself forlornly, as he looked down towards the ground.

He would usually always consider training in solitude as a result; _however, _he recently had begun to feel overwhelmed... And felt the cruel grasp of life's hand, as it was never ever so gentle with any specific human being.

The downside of walking around town, is he really wasn't acquainted with anyone from _Trost District. _Though, Eren and Mikasa were here, they currently were most likely preoccupied and stationed in an entirely different area of the district.

And Armin's blood relatives were _gone... They had been gone for a decent amount of time now... _He honestly hadn't had the time with the current situation, to even _mourn _the loss of his _grandfather... Nor his parents... Though, he never really knew much about his parents..._

He figured it was for the better though; as he would most likely spent too much time reflecting on the better times in life... He felt he would dwell on them until he was fully sorrowful, and shedding the _agony_ that swelled in his eyes...

He had kept a small hope since meeting her acquaintance, that a certain girl would perhaps, _befriend him... _But he grew to not be as confident as he once was, in the hope.

In a land where every day, everyone became ever so much more aware that each day could be their last; _nearly everyone wanted their breaths in solitude..._

_Yet... _he couldn't help but wonder more specifically about that girl... Everyone would keep to themselves consistently, _but she was a hold different matter... _

It was if she were a massive puzzle, that had pieces from multiple different collections of puzzles; that never seemed to mend together _correctly..._

While everyone, keeping their seclusion evident; would continue their personalities...

_Her's however, was..._

_Gone._

It was as if something had taken her previous characteristics from her hands, and she had become both inwardly and outwardly cold and spiteful due to it.

Yet, it was as if he saw the fading soul fragment within her eyes; _begging to reappear once more..._

Yet it couldn't; it was caged, _tightly locked away for many years until it had nearly been entirely forgotten..._

He couldn't help but be curious, if her aspirations within her could be resurrected; with the correctly timed motives...

He lastly, began to think that he was over analyzing factors and souls from life; _and needed to focus on his very own survival..._

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps ringing throughout the corridor he was located in brought him back into reality. His eyes went wide nervously, as his body straightened instinctively.

He wasn't sure if it would be another cadet, or a leading officer once more; so he stood formally, _just in case._

He heard the footsteps approaching from the small door in the back of the dining hall, as eventually, they became more and more apparent.

The door located in the very back of the large dining hall slowly opened, as a figure made its way through the doorway...

He saw long brown-hair, pressed into a pony-tail, as a taller figure made its way out from the door. The figure was clinching something located within it's jacket cautiously... It looked from side to side in paranoia, as it continued to make its way down the hall. Armin raised his brows in confusion, as his mind tried to piece the solution to the reasoning of this girl's presence.

Upon further examination through narrowed eyes, Armin realized the identity of the figure as it continued its way down the hall, yet to notice Armin himself.

It was a girl named_ Sasha, _who Armin remembered, had the reputation of having a massive appetite.

Armin suddenly had a small quantity of curiosity towards the girl's actions, enough to in which he deemed acceptable that he should make his presence known.

_"Sasha?" _Armin cautiously spoke up with once more wide eyes, and raised brows. He continued to glare at the girl as she instinctively halted and turned her gaze downwards as she heard the voice.

She didn't want to look towards the boy; as she let fright consume her... She decided to address the own of the voice...

"Y-Yes...?" She spoke up hesitantly, as she felt she was caught red handed. Her gaze was still plastered upon the floor, as her hair covered her eyes in defeat.

Armin slowly spoke up, "It's me... Um, Armin... I mean." Armin said aloud, as he really hadn't met this girl, so he wasn't positive if she would remember his name as he was addressed by in previous military gatherings.

Suddenly, the girl looked up towards the figure; as it was her first time seeing the figure... Relief flew over her, as she realized it was a cadet; and not some type of military administrator. Her eyes went from wide and fearful, to relaxed and relieved. She let out a large relieved sigh as she felt she nearly had the life scared from her...

She quickly ran up to the boy, carefully concealing whatever it was that was still in her jacket. As she made her final running steps towards the boy, she spoke up.

"Phew; Armin, I'm glad it's you... You scared the living _crap _out of me..." She spoke in relief, as her voice once more took on it's care-free tone. After she made her way up entirely to the boy, she halted. She seemed to have a prideful smile placed upon her lips, as her eyes glistened in gluttony.

"What are you doing here...? Everybody's seems to be gone, and I didn't think anyone would be here..." Armin began hesitantly, as he couldn't help but curiously glance at the gigantic bulge within her jacket... The jacket truthfully didn't make it much more subtle, as it was still quite noticeable for anyone paying attention.

"Yeah, everybody's gone off for some boring training stuff with general what's-his-face... But, I snuck away... _And I, have now acquired... " _Sasha's words trailed off near the end, _as her tone and gleeful smile made it seem as if she had made a grand achievement..._

Sasha slowly opened her jacket, and pulled out a _full, entire, _and cooked; _turkey..._

Armin's eyes widened, as he looked from the turkey, back to the girl, back to the turkey; and the girl once more... Clearly shocked at her recent action, the boy spoke up in distress...

"Sasha, _how did you get a full tur-" _The boy was cut off, as a hand from the same girl now covered his mouth...

_"Shh! Not so loud!" _The girl complained hastily to Armin, as she continued to hold her hand over his mouth; the turkey now once more covered with her free arm. Her eyes narrowed in irritation, as she didn't want to come this far in her plan; for Armin to muck everything up.

"If I let go of your mouth, _do you promise to keep quiet?" _Sasha questioned tentatively, as she narrowed her gaze suspiciously at Armin with a frown.

Armin slowly nodded, and upon seeing this, she let her hand drop from his mouth. She patiently awaited the boy's, now hopefully silent; reaction...

"Sasha, how did you get a full turkey?! What if somebody finds out?!" Armin whispered with an unsettled tone, he brought his face closer to hers nervously, so his whisper would be more easily audible.

"Hmm. Well," She began quietly in reply, "everybody is supposed to be rewarded to some feast tonight... And there are about a dozen turkeys to feed everyone back there, and _I stole one of them." _She spoke once more in a care-free tone, as she honestly didn't feel any threat from the impending penalty of food theft.

"H-How exactly did you sneak into the kitchen, without a somebody realizing you...?" The boy spoke in confusion, as his nostrils were suddenly tickled with the aroma, smell, and sensation of what Sasha had stolen... After all, he hadn't eaten in..._ He wasn't sure how long... _

_"Well. _After they cooked these guys, _they decided it was a good time to go on break... _Yet, I had been there, _watching them for hours... _And finally, when they went on break, I got a chance, and I took it. And now-" She spoke happily, as she stood straight and held a confident smile; her eyes were proud at her recent affair.

_"-I will get first taste." _She finished with a smirk, as she looked upwards in victory.

Armin gazed at her for a second in disbelief... _She made it sound so easy to enter a military guarded kitchen, and steal whatever she desires... _It slightly confused him, and made him wonder about the security of this area a tad bit more...

_"-And," _she suddenly continued her words as she looked towards Armin, "if you keep quiet... And, _don't tell anybody... I'll share it with you..." _She offered slowly, though it seemed to displease her to have to _share it with somebody..._

Armin raised his brows in confusion, _"-But!" _She began once more, _"_I get at least seventy percent of it... _At least!" _She finished, as her eyes narrowed at the boy in an assumption that he wanted at least half. _But she was to have none of that..._

_"Deal?" _She concluded, as she looked towards Armin who was still, visibly flustered at the whole situation in general. He closed his eyes for a moment as he still took in all of the information, and the offer he was just given.

Suddenly, she in a flash ripped off on of the turkey legs from inside of her jacket, and held it out to Armin's face. She then lingered it close to his features, as it's heat collided with his face; she taunted the boy with the delectable item she had in her hand...

"C'mon Armin..._ It's going to be, really delicious..." _She said in a seductive tone, as she wasn't trying to seduce the boy; _she just didn't want him to be able to tell any type of administrator of her actions..._

He then opened his eyes, and let his stomach speak over his flustered state.

"U-Um... _s-sure..." _Armin spoke up timidly, as he still wasn't sure if it was the _wisest _decision... _The last thing he needed to be doing was breaking the law... _But he was practically starving, and just the lingering smell of the turkey persuaded his final decision. Yet, he never was planning to tell on the girl even if he didn't eat any of it; _but he couldn't help but accept a free and tempting meal..._

Sasha smiled as her suspicious glare relaxed, "Good." She said happily with a gleeful smile, as she suddenly tucked the turkey leg away in her jacket, and grabbed the boy's hand and ran with it towards the exit.

Armin watched wide-eyed, as he nearly stumbled and tripped, but regained his balance as he turned around, and matched her pace as she drug him along still grasping his hand.

_"Now come on," _she spoke up hastily, as they made it out of the doorway, _"it's gonna get cold! Pick up your pace!" She barked towards the boy, _as her hunger consumed her and bliss consumed her.

Armin watched wide-eyed as they continued to run from the military training area, her grasp and pace never letting up in the slightest, as his golden hair blew chaotically in the wind... As he struggled to keep her pace, _he supposed the rumors were true..._

_'She really does ...have an appetite...' _He thought to himself timidly,_ as they continued to rapidly run for a safe haven..._

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>_

_**Hey! I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading! I tried to improve my writing from previous chapters, less choppy and such hopefully. ^_^ But anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Thanks again for reading! :)**_

_**Thanks! :D**_


	6. Crave

_**Fear: Chapter Six**_

_**Crave**_

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><p><strong>Quick Note: Hey everyone, hopefully you are enjoying the story thus far. I just want to say, I am still in the process of watching the anime; and recently, started reading the manga. But, I went on a binge and watched most of the anime within a few days. And I freaking love the series, it makes me go aeioraiwejrioawerj while I aeioraoewr. But anyways, I wanted to apologize for not giving you guys a very good idea of what exactly in the hell is happening in general. So, with this chapter, it got decently long and will explain some important stuff; so I hope that this will explain what exactly is going on in a bit more detail. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! ^_^ Thanks for reading again! <strong>

* * *

><p>Armin silently ate, as he sat across from the pleased Sasha. They had found a safe haven, a small little inn that would accept military guests free of charge. Though, they didn't need to stay over night, the free table presented was always graciously accepted.<p>

Armin had made sure to give his thanks to the elderly couple who were running this small in, while Sasha was distracted by her ever so sweet accomplishment through deeply jaded eyes.

Armin paused his consumption of food, as he let his thoughts hit him...

Armin couldn't lie, it was pleasant to just relax for once. Everything within Trost constantly seemed tense, so it was nice to finally be able to indulge within the sanguine pleasures within life.

Usually, there was mass chaos throughout the streets; even on the days where there had been no negative news from the militia Survey Corps.

People were constantly in widespread fear, as they were forced to be put into the outer walls. Everybody practically begged for the luxury to live within Wall Sina. But, only those who were royal; or were enrolled within the Military Police were allowed such a luxury.

That's what it seemed most of the people in the 104th Trainee Squad had their minds set upon... For once, _hopefully feeling safe in their lives..._

Though Armin never exactly understood why people felt so secure within Wall Sina. Eventually, if everybody would retreat within Wall Sina, Wall Maria would not only fall due to the overpowering and intimidating titans, but also a lack of militia.

Recently, the military deemed it was a good decision to start splitting up Trainee Squads to four separate cores. And unfortunately, they had recently begun on it when Armin, Eren and Mikasa had joined.

The intention was to take separate officers, generals, and sometimes even commanders, from the military, and separating them to a specified amount of individuals.

For the 102nd and 103rd Trainee Squads, they were the first to take part within this type of proposition. As they did, they noticed an increased optimism and more potentials being met with individual soldier training.

They saw less casualties for the Survey Corps within the 102nd and 103rd Trainee Squads, they saw a rapid increase in security and maintenance around the walls for The Garrison. They saw fresh Military Police faces, who, were oddly willing to occasionally even _transfer _to the Survey Corps, in case of a lack of manpower...

Overall, there was much more optimism and will within the military; and the experiment had been a complete success. They deemed it to be taken as a constant within each Trainee Squad, that it was mandatory to split them up to four different cores and four different instructors.

Recently, for the 104th Trainee Squad, they deemed it fit to work in separate locations. They built small grounds for military training in four separate corners of the Trost District.

They at first were brought here all together, but after a day; their specific cores were set, and they were placed in their proper positions of their core.

Eren and Mikasa were placed in the first core located within the Northeast in Trost, while Armin had been placed within the fourth core located Southwest in Trost. The second core had been located Southeast in Trost, while the third core was located Northwest in Trost. Essentially, all the cores had completed a visible square on the Trost District map.

It was by pure luck that Eren and Mikasa were placed within the same core, Armin remembered when they had first gotten here how stressed Mikasa seemed due to the structure of it all...

Yet, after they were placed in their proper cores, her face almost screamed in relief. Armin was at least glad that Eren had Mikasa to watch out for him, it was aware to Armin the situations that Eren could get himself present within; but with Mikasa there, there was hopefully little to worry about.

Armin however, also remembers the dismay he felt as he was assigned to the fourth core monitored by Keith Shadis. Nearly everyone there was extremely cold and private, it was nearly impossible to make the acquaintance of anyone...

Once all four cores graduated though, they would all luckily be reunited once more with one another. Armin couldn't help but look forward to the day of graduation, that being, _he did hopefully graduate... _The day where he would see both his remaining friends, who he even considered family... The day where he would see Eren, and Mikasa, once more...

Armin wasn't even worried about being assigned to the fourth core so much, as he was just being in solitude and being by himself... Armin was the type of person who needed some type of companion through his journey, as he never really felt like a complete person on his own. He felt incapable of completing any real necessary tasks on his own, or facing any real threatening challenges...

Though Armin would have an endless amount of thoroughly thought out ideas for barriers within his path... _He would always find himself to paranoid to ever voice them..._

Though he thought out the point end to end; he never really possessed any confidence for any of the ideas that would come to his mind... He felt that if he ever did bring them up more frequently, he would accidentally forgot one catastrophic detail; and make a fool of himself...

The only times he would say them aloud, was when he was surrounded by Eren or Mikasa... He usually would voice it to them, and let them contemplate the thought for a moment...

They normally after contemplation, would praise the idea, and put it into action... But, that's when they were _kids... _This was different.

_This was when human kind was at stake, not some child like game or issue... _This was real, and this was when all bets were placed upon the table. And if he failed... Failed, by throwing out a half-baked plan... He wasn't sure he could forgive him self, the blood being on his hands...

He thought back to what Mikasa and Eren had said when they first got here...

_'Use that brain of yours, and come up with stuff like you normally do. You'll do great, I'm sure of it!' _Eren had encouraged the boy while flashing a confident smirk; determination written on his face, for the revenge of every death of human kind placed on this boy's mind. More specifically... _His mother..._

_'Yes, I agree with Eren... Just use your wit, and don't hesitate...' _Mikasa had agreed, a much more plain and calm look placed upon her face. She was more aware than Eren of Armin's hesitations when it came to speaking up, and realized if he continue to had that problem; _it would trouble him greatly..._

Armin thought to his current situation...

_'I've nearly died twice now by the instructor... And now I'm eating a stolen turkey... I really am hopeless without those two...' _Armin thought forlornly, but he couldn't help but smile of the tiniest amount of comedic value this whole situation presented...

Perhaps Mikasa wouldn't have gone along with what Armin's been doing, but Eren would have most likely... Eren has a decently large appetite as well, not nearly as much as Sasha's, but still a higher quantity of an appetite.

A lot of times, Eren would get into the weirdest of situations; yet Armin would always be by his side throughout it... Though they were idiotic situations, that really didn't have a clear necessary purpose; he wasn't about to stray from his friend's side.

A lot of times Mikasa would come to their rescue after she had joined the duo. She sometimes would hold back while the two would embark on adventures, helping Ms. Yaeger while Mr. Yaeger had been off on duty. Mikasa always felt that she had a debt to pay off towards Mr. Yaeger and Ms. Yaeger , as she often found herself volunteering for labor with the two...

Armin wasn't quite sure of the back story of what exactly had happened for the two to live within the same house. As it seemed that one day when he and Eren were both around nine years old, he remembered a pale black-haired girl, who wore a red scarf, randomly appearing one day...

He didn't mind her presence though whatsoever, as the two quickly became friends... But he couldn't help but let curiosity get the better of him, as the time he did ask her of her origin; he remembered the extremely _dark _and _grief _filled expressions that both her and Eren obtained within a flash...

He immediately had apologized, realizing he had touched on a delicate subject he was not meant to... He made a mental note never to task of that again... Figuring, some things were better left unsaid...

Suddenly, Armin was pulled back to reality, as he looked upwards from the table, and saw a tiny bone being held out to him...

He looked towards Sasha in confusion for a moment, as he saw her use her tongue to clean some of the turkey still lodged within her teeth.

"C'mon, it's a wish bone. I'm going to wish for more turkey!" Sasha spoke optimistically, with glistening eyes of prosperity. She continued to glare towards the confused Armin...

Armin actually had never had turkey before, but he had stumbled upon wish bones before... Meat was something, that even with Wall Maria, was still an expensive trade good. There were also very specific meats that brought in a great quantity of funds at high prices, turkey was one of them.

To be honest, Armin was so engulfed within his own thoughts... He wasn't even tasting the turkey he was consuming...

Living with but only his grandfather, Armin wasn't exactly wealthy... In fact, he was quite the opposite. Only on some fickle occasions, were they treated to some rare delicacies such as meat. It was quite delicious, but Armin was perfectly content with continuing their normal meals... He realized it was difficult for his grandfather to make a decent wage, though he put a great deal of effort into anything he did; it still wasn't enough it seemed to make a good amount of funds in return. Suddenly, a thought hit Armin.

"Aren't you like umm... not supposed to tell people your wish?" He spoke curiously as he looked towards Sasha with raised brows, the girl seemed to scan his information as she looked away from Armin with interest placed within her features...

However, in the end; she simply shrugged her shoulders with closed eyes, as she then, opened her eyes and returned her glare towards Armin.

"Oh well. Anyways, grip your side, and let's do this." Sasha challenged joyfully, as she got a determined look on her face, as if it were a competition.

Armin smiled, as he inwardly giggled at the girl's constant random joy, despite the situation the human race was in. He nodded with a smile, as he grasped the other end of the bone.

Sasha gave narrowed determined eyes towards Armin, as Armin playfully matched them with his own. Sasha began to speak up...

"3...2...-Go!" Armin eye's widened, as his brows raised with surprise, and his lips pursed in confusion.

Sasha quickly yanked the wish bone, as Armin tried to recover; but it was of no luck, as Sasha raised her arms in victory at getting the larger side...

He had been awaiting one more numerical value to come... He frowned as he brought the smaller side towards his face, _he should have been expecting that..._

_"Woo, more turkey for me!" _Sasha cheered as she waved back and forth. The elderly couple who owned the inn looked towards the two in confusion...

Armin noticed this, as he looked around him and saw the two glaring towards their direction in confusion...

Armin waved his hand, and nervously rubbed the back of his neck... "Sorry..." He chimed out timidly as he looked towards the two, while giving a nervous chuckle.

Armin then, slowly looked back towards Sasha. He saw her holding her winning wish bone within both her hands, glaring at it as if it were a golden ticket.

Her teeth were visible in her massive grin, as her eyes were closed. She then opened her eyes and frowned, giving an accusing glare towards Armin with narrowed eyes.

"You better not say I cheated..." Sasha threatened the boy, as she tried her best to be menacing... But it wasn't working out entirely well for her...

Armin chuckled, "No, you won; congratulations." Armin spoke softly with a sincere smile, as he inwardly felt more optimistic than he had usually...

"Your damn straight, congratulations." Sasha spoke sternly, as her eyes relaxed and they seemed to glisten as something came to her mind...

"You think it would be a good idea to go back there, and try to get another one? I'm having a good luck streak, and I'm not going to waste it." She asked the boy curiously, as her gaze mirrored her ambitions, in an almost, greedy hope.

"Y-You mean, back to our military kitchen...?" Armin replied hesitantly, as he felt himself oddly intrigued by this girl's aspiration of such unique things, during a time like this.

Sasha nodded, as she began to open her mouth and clean her teeth, with her ever-so-prized, wish bone.

Armin shook his head as he gave a small laugh, "I don't think it would... be a good idea, necessarily." Armin said through a small smile, as he watched the girl's eyes narrowed at his reaction.

"Bah, what do you know. _I'm the lucky here one, after all." _She said as she pulled the wish bone out of her mouth, and once again waved it around in a sign of victory...

Armin smiled at her reaction, this girl was definitely... _different. _But, he suddenly found himself curious of something a bit more serious... And, he suddenly felt the urge to hopefully engage in a deeper conversation...

"Hey Sasha..." He began solemnly, as the girl narrowed her eyes once more... Suspicious that what the boy had to say would rain on her parade... She slowly replied, as she held her suspicious glare towards the boy.

"What?" She spoke shortly, as she still really didn't know much about this boy, or who he was... And she had no intention of getting gloomy, as she felt as this was one of the high points in her life...

"I-I was just curious... As to why... You um... joined the Trainee Corps...?" Armin began slowly, as he hoped he hadn't intruded into something personal... He was just curious, and really didn't know much about the girl, besides her hunger that is.

Sasha relaxed her pose, as she smiled and replied nearly instantly.

"For the free food! Duh." She spoke happily as she pictured all of the endless meals within her mind. Her eyes glistened, as if she had found her long lost romantic interest.

Armin nearly visibly face planted, _he was awaiting a more serious answer... _However, he kept himself in check, as he went back to his thoughts...

_'Maybe... I should have guessed that...' _Armin thought to himself with a slight laugh. However, he could help but ask the obvious.

"There isn't any other reason... Other than that...? Armin asked curiously, as he looked towards the girl who continued to gleefully smile.

"Nope! What other good reason would there be?" She spoke nonchalantly, as she looked to the boy with raised brows.

The boy shrugged, "I just thought that it might be more... _S-Solemn, _is all..." He said slowly with a smile, however, he faltered as he realized how impolite that sounded... Sasha narrowed her eyes towards the boy...

Armin frowned as he began to hastily apologize for what he had said, "I-I'm sorry; I didn't m-mean it l-like-" Armin began timidly, yet he was cut off.

"Well, when you actually think about it, _it is..." _She began slowly, as she adjusted in on the bench in which she sat. Armin looked towards her curiously, as he still felt remorse for what he said., but decided to keep quiet to let her speak...

"When you look around town, almost everybody has lost loved ones; those loved ones sometimes being the ones that make the wage and put the food on the table in the first place... Haven't you noticed how skinny people have been looking ever since Wall Maria fell?" Sasha began more somberly to Armin's surprise, as Armin realized the words she spoke were true...

"Ever since Wall Maria was taken, food supplies have been reduced a little over forty-five percent; due to Wall Maria holding most of the small farms and trade villages." She continued earnestly. Armin took in each word she said, though at first it may have seemed comedic, she was right...

"So, I think this is actually a good reason. We may not get as much of a portion as we normally do, but it's truthfully the only for sure way to guarantee a meal per day. Other occupations are so fickle now with the titan threat, leaving you to only hope you may eat and even if your job hasn't been destroyed by the titans themselves." Sasha resumed, as Armin honestly was surprised by all this that she had said... It was as if she had changed to two entirely different people in the blink of an eye...

"So, why is my reason _so bad? _What's your amazing reason, that trumps mine?" Sasha spoke challengingly, as she looked towards Armin through curious narrowed eyes. She crossed her arms as she awaited a response.

Armin slowly looked down towards the table with a frown, as he was still shocked by her response. He felt remorse for what he had said, and really didn't mean to sound the way he may of come across... _He was just so used to people having more reasons, relating to the one's such as Eren's..._

"I-I..." He began slowly, as woe began to fill his voice while bowing his head.

"I really _don't have a better reason... I honestly don't know my reason... I just... I really don't know... And I'm really sorry... For what I said, I-I mean.. Please forgive my unjust assumptions..." _Armin spoke out softly, as sorrow filled his voice, and his desolate eyes remained on the table...

Sasha looked towards the boy for a moment, and realized she had struck a harsh chord within the boy; as it slowly played it's somber tune within him. She frowned, as she tried to lift the boy's spirits.

"Hey, but don't beat yourself up." She began, as Armin slowly raised his dolor filled gaze towards her.

"We all make mistakes sometimes. And we should probably get back; the instructor will be there soon, and he's going to do that stupid role call thing. So let's go." Sasha stood up, dropped her wishbone in her pocket, as she began to make her way towards the door.

"Wait... I thought he did that two other times throughout the whole exercise?..." Armin asked curiously, as he kept his gaze focused in front of him waiting for a response.

"Nope. I thought that you would have noticed that our's is pretty lazy. He only does it once before departure, and once when we make it back. " Sasha spoke nonchalantly as she continued to make her way towards the doorway.

"Oh..." Armin replied softly, as he had remembered he had yet to be on an exercise that they left camp... Probably because of being in the medical station so much recently.

Armin then looked down, however; more towards the center of the table this time... And realized Sasha had eaten_ all of the turkey, _he hadn't even noticed. He barely even ate any of it.

He also noticed it as a gigantic mess left upon the table, and didn't feel right just leaving it there. He then stood up, and turned towards Sasha.

"H-Hey, we can't just _leave this here. _It's not a nice thing to do..." Armin began slowly, as he realized how childish he sounded... Yet it was true, it wasn't the right thing in the least to do.

Sasha thought about it for a moment, as she turned to face Armin in the doorway. She looked towards something slowly, before looking back to Armin.

"Well, I would... _But-, _we only have ten minutes to get back. So we should probably do that." She spoke nonchalantly, as she then let out a small yawn and stretched her arms.

Armin eye's widened, "T-Ten minutes?!" He began nervously, as he looked towards the location in which the girl had looked, and saw a clock. He then realized that she was right...It was 6:50 P.M, and all trainings that were led by the instructor would almost always end at exactly 7:00 P.M for each day...

He gulped, as he quickly ran up to the elderly couple who sat behind the front counter, and he hastily pulled out a pouch from a small pocket in his jacket.

He quickly skirmished through it, as he nervously looked towards the elderly couple... His grandfather had given the boy a small quantity of funds, so that he could take the first footsteps into the life of solitude and have some security in the form of funds along with it.

He placed a decent amount of funds upon the table, and gave the couple a quick bow.

"I'm so, _so _sorry for the mess... And thank you for your patronage." The boy said timidly, as he bowed once more nervously. The elderly couple in response smiled, and looked towards the boy appreciatively.

"Thank you, and don't fret; we don't mind cleaning it up." The older lady said gleefully, as she looked towards the boy.

Armin gave a small smile, however was interrupted.

"C'mon Armin, we seriously have gotta get moving!" Sasha called out to the boy as she continued to wait by the doorway. Armin looked back quickly, before he once again returned his gaze towards the elder couple.

"Thanks again!" He said thankfully, as he bowed once more hastily. He then turned, and made his way out of the inn along with Sasha rapidly...

The two upon making it outside, began to rapidly sprint back towards the training grounds.

Armin saw as the sun began to set as the light began to dim, as it gave the whole life around him an ever peaceful orange glow...

As they continued to run, Armin saw as children were called back to inside their houses for dinner. He saw them happily wave to each other as they departed from one another.

As he ran... He realized how much it reminded him of Eren and him, back in Shiganshina... However whenever the orange aura began to set upon the small town, the two realized it was time to head inside...

He heard the rustling of leaves, as small gusts of wind made their appearance known. Traders began to slowly close their shop for the day, while other people would slowly make there way back from whatever occupation their lives had been focused on.

For once in ever, the small district seemed _ever so peaceful..._

"C'mon, Armin!" She yelled back towards the boy, pulling him back into reality. He realized she had gotten a decent amount of distance between him, and his pace was slowing as he focused on better times.

"C-Coming! Sorry!" He called out nervously, as he picked up his pace and began to sprint once more towards both of their destination.

* * *

><p>Armin inwardly sighed in relief, as they had made it back in time. The cadets had luckily not even arrived yet, and they had made it back... Though he wasn't exactly sure why he sprinted back necessarily, as the instructor had expected him to be on medical leave anyways... Maybe it was just for Sasha's well being, and so she wasn't exposed to any type of penalty.<p>

Armin looked to his side while panting, "H-...Hey, S-Sasha... we made..." His voice trailed off, as he noticed that the girl had vanished, his brows slightly raised in confusion...

He suddenly heard a mass of chatter coming from the location in which he came from, and he turned around slowly...

He saw a mass of cadets, formed in a perfect line, led by the instructor. There were walking towards Armin's location... He had supposed that Sasha must have snuck her way inside the cluster of people.

He stood awkwardly for a moment in his current position, as he suddenly changed his stance to be more appropriate. He saluted his hand to his heart, and stood firmly, as the fourth core of the 104th Training Division made their way closer.

As the fourth core continued to approach their training grounds, some of the cadets began to see Armin's presence, and began to snicker.

"Oh god, he's back..." One of the many cadets said with a chuckle, as some of the other cadets began to laugh at the site.

This piqued the interest of a certain platinum blonde haired girl, who narrowed her eyes as she realized what they had meant...

The instructor smirked at the sight, he was surprised that the boy had made it back on this one... He had nearly killed him twice, yet he was back once more; and awaiting orders...

As they took the final steps approaching Armin, the instructor slowly yet sternly, spoke up through a smirk.

"So, you're back for more. Eh, Arlert?" The instructor looked towards Armin who still held his salute, and determination written across his face.

Armin nodded firmly, as he kept his gaze focused in front of him, looking in nobody's particular direction.

"Yes, sir." Armin said sternly, as he continued to uphold his firm stance.

The commander halted in front of Armin as he spoke up once more, "Well, I don't know if your really stupid, or if you actually have willpower Arlert. I guess we'll see at the exams." The instructor spoke, but much to Armin's surprise; there wasn't the previous irritation there once was, instead it almost seemed that the commander was glad at his presence...

Armin nodded once more, as the instructor continued his smirk. The instructor then walked around Armin, and turned around towards the other cadets and Armin himself. The cadets walked up to where Armin was currently located, as he addressed them one final time for the day. He narrowed his gaze on the many figures that stood in front of him.

"Just because we are nearing the end of this training regiment, do not believe for one second it will get any easier! If I see anybody not give their very best, give any less than two hundred percent effort; I will not hesitate to fail you. As I do not want to have some half-wit cadet, running into titans, and ending their lives needlessly! You are all dismissed for the day!" He spoke up sternly once more, he walked away from the cadets.

The cadets let go of their firm stance, as they all scattered in different directions, walking to separate destinations...

Armin stood at his current position, as his stance lessened, and a small smile made it's way across his face...

_He really was, going to make it through this... After all the doubt..._

He saw Sasha, as she walked away towards his right; yet, she looked back towards him. She gave him a smile, and a wink. Armin returned the smile warmly, as he inwardly giggled at her ability to pull off that scheme once more. He noticed that she had seemed proud of doing so as well. Suddenly, a voice spoke behind Armin, pulling him out of the recollection of recent events.

"You are an idiot, _I hope you are aware of this." _A familiar, cold, feminine voice spoke out from behind him...

Armin's eyes went wide, as he hastily turned around. He was inwardly excited and hopeful to see a familiar set of blonde hair, in a messy bun...He smiled as he awaited the sight... Yet, when he turned around...

_There was nothing_... _No one at all, _besides some of the left over departing cadets. Armin slightly frowned in confusion, as he gently bit his lip and bowing his head...

_Was he just hearing things...?_

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>_

_**Hey all, hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading! :) Thanks for the continued support, reviews, follows and favorites! ^_^ It means a lot! Anyways, I hope this chapter was one of the better ones, I managed to bust it out in about three to four hours. :D I reviewed some of my previous mishaps on writing, and hope it flows a bit better than last chapter. Also, let me know if there are any obvious text gaps please; because when I uploaded the document, it randomly cut some stuff out it seems, or I accidentally deleted it somehow. Sorry for asking for that, but I just don't want things to seem messed up haha. :) Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Thanks again for reading! :D**_


	7. Condolences

_**Fear: Chapter Seven**_

_**Condolences**_

* * *

><p>Armin slowly sat mute, as he watched the other cadets around him gorge down on their own nourishment. They conversed with mouth's full, and laughed spitting up things that they were previously chewing. He sat at a very crowded table, along a certain brown-haired girl.<p>

Luckily, the reason he got the table was that Sasha had been nice enough to save a seat for him. The time's he did eat, he would sometimes have to resort to eating outside. As though seats weren't full, every time he made his way to approach them, and ask politely if it was taken. Cadet's would become defensive, and they would pretend as if they were occupied.

Armin sometimes tried to engage in the conversation, hoping for new acquaintances. But usually, the boy was ignored and blocked out entirely. As if as soon as they heard it, they had forgotten what he had said completely, and went back to their meals.

Armin himself wasn't very hungry, his thoughts had been scattered and his curiosity had been plaguing him. Luckily, a certain brown-haired girl who sat beside him was more than thrilled to eat his meal for him.

Sasha herself, seemed more distracted on her food rather than any conversation around her. It almost seemed as if she was nearly obsessive compulsive with the way she chose to eat her food. She ate certain things first, certain things with each other, certain things when they were slightly cold, and certain things when they were steaming and fresh.

Only Armin probably had the perception to notice it, but he found it interesting and intriguing. He chose to keep himself quiet, and not disturb the munching girl. He supposed it would be best if he had a moment to collect his thoughts.

Everything around him seemed so surreal sometimes, as if this were all just a haunting nightmare that he could wake up from any moment in his grandfather's house again.

But he realized that not to be true, and this was in fact, reality. His mind wandered over the girl he knew as Annie, his mind wandered over the girl beside him, and his mind even wandered over the instructor.

Though things were hazardous and overwhelming, they have been better than they had been previously. It seemed like this new girl he met that sat beside him would be someone who he consider as a friend, and he greatly appreciated that.

It pained him to feel so lonesome and nearly hollow due to holding everything in to himself constantly, and it was nice to know he had somebody, who he could once in a while talk to.

His hands were grasped together, as his elbows leaned upon the table. His grasped hands would occasionally come up towards his mouth, only to fret away from it once more, then to eventually return.

His mind had wandered previously to where the girl with platinum blonde-hair had located herself within this hall, yet when he first arrived, and after a quick examination of his whereabouts, she was nowhere to be found.

Armin decided it was best to depart from the dining hall, and maybe go for a walk... Maybe, that could put some insight to all of this chaos.

He gently tapped the girl's shoulder beside him, as she hastily looked over to the boy... Armin's eyes widened somewhat when she had food smeared across her mouth, but he ignored it.

"...Hey, I was going to walk outside for a bit... If that's okay..." He began hesitantly, as he looked towards the girl with a small smile and a timid chuckle.

"Yoush staiehga safthe, errooakay?" The girl spoke out with her mouth full, as she gave a smile. She then gave a hasty thumbs up to Armin, as her gaze was focused on her meal the whole time.

Armin eye's widened as he had no idea what she had just said, but he assumed the thumbs-up was the girl simply accepting what he had said. So, he inferred that it was indeed, alright to leave.

He continued his smile, as he spoke up softly once more, "Thanks, Sasha." As he began to stand up, the girl spoke once more.

"Youe'resh wertcolmsh!" She said as her mouth continued to be full, and Armin this time thought he had made out what he had said.

Armin gave smile towards the girl, before he stepped over the bench; and began to make his way out of the dining hall.

As he made his way to the entrance, he walked outside. He gave a small sigh, as his once upheld lips, fell into a somber frown.

He looked up towards the sky, and saw as the moon slowly played it's midnight woe, as it bled its heartache within the clouds beside it...

The ever so fickle light that emanated from the moon, silhouetted the boy's features. He felt as the wind blew ever so gently, disturbing the still decaying fallen leaves, and causing his hair to blow rapidly around his soft features.

As Armin closed his eyes, and gently let the night embrace him for the brief moment it did. He suddenly heard the sound of dirt crunching near him, causing his eye's to shoot open rapidly.

As Armin turned, he suddenly saw the figure of a taller man. His eye's widened as he realized it was the instructor, immediately the boy held his hand to his heart, as he turned into a signature stance of respect from the higher-up.

As the figure finished it's final steps towards Armin, he slowly spoke up.

"No need for the formalities, cadet. You may drop your pose." The instructor said as he halted upon being feet away from Armin.

Armin slowly dropped his pose in confusion, as his hands resumed at being at his side. He looked up towards the instructor wondering the reason for his presence. The instructor then stared at the boy for a few seconds, before he roughly spoke up once more.

"Take a walk with me, cadet." He spoke in a emotionless tone, as he slowly began to walk towards nowhere in particular.

Armin's eyes went wide from shock at the man's request, he sat there for a moment - frozen, before he eventually pulled himself out of his disbelief and ran to catch up with the instructor.

As he made his way to catch up with the instructor, and upon his arrival, the instructor spoke once more solemnly as his gaze was directed to no where in particular.

"You know cadet, when you first arrived... The looked you possessed in your eyes told me you were lost, told me, you had no real purpose for doing any of this." The instructor spoke up sternly, as the two continued walking slowly.

"But, you managed to pique my curiosity. Yet, as I watched you... And when we first acted within the physical exercises, I had no hope for you achieving any type of status within the ranks of the military." The instructor spoke up gravely, as he continued his hollow steps.

"However, there was something I didn't notice until close inspection. And I had to make sure it was true, and not some false hope that I had. So, I had to make some drastic actions, and you have my sincerest apologies for those." The commander spoke up once more, interest inclining within his voice.

"So, I did my research. And I recall you being and conversing with two other cadets when you were here. And I have noticed how you are with the cadet's of the fourth core, and how distant you are with them compared to those two. So, I assumed those two were your friends or family." The instructor resumed, as his eyes began to trail towards the floor.

"Apparently, the one named, _Eren Yaeger, _is quite a rash hot-head. Yet, he apparently shows an unheard of amount of determination, and guts. While the one known as _Mikasa Ackerman, _nearly excels at nearly every category possible. Yet, I have read up on the cadet training reports, and read that she clings herself to the one called _Eren. _Before I continue, these are your friends, am I correct?" The instructor spoke up, as he looked back towards Armin. Armin hastily nodded with wide-eyes, as he continued to walk slowly behind the instructor.

"Well, I am going to tell you something now cadet. Those two are not going to last long_, _at least with the way they are approaching this if they uphold their words and join the Survey Corps. The boy is too focused on revenge, while the girl is too focused on the boy himself. It smells of a massive disaster in the making." The instructor continued, as Armin soaked in all of the words he said slowly.

"So, retreating to my original point. Is though, while I noticed you are physically limited compared to other cadet's. There is something else you have..." The instructor trailed off for a moment, as he chose the words he spoke next carefully.

"You see, many cadet's, including those such as Eren, jump into action before planning it within their mind's... Doing this, is a death sentence. You will not live long, you will not last long; and I don't care how strong you are, your life will end." The instructor spoke harshly, as he continued his pace with Armin trailing behind.

"Yet, though you have failed miserably on the previous physical training exercises... I watched you closely, and I saw as you picked each of the factors apart mentally... I watched as you mentally mapped out each obstruction in your mind. I know it seems like a long-shot, but I could see it within each hesitation and each you would stare with caution towards the task at hand."The instructor continued his words, as the two continued walking.

"Which is a trait that any leader has... And I trust, you are going to be following your friend into the Survey Corps, yes?" The commander spoke as he looked behind towards Armin, with a raised brow. Armin was shocked by the commander's words, but hesitantly thought about his options, before he slowly nodded. His eyes showed a slight glisten of lost hope, wondering if it truly was the most thought out decision. Yet he hid it will as he bowed his head, making certain that the instructor did not witness it.

"Well, that is what I wanted to express my interest in. While other cadets would jump into practically any situation without thought, and make subconscious foolish decisions. You managed not to, as you inwardly dissected the obstacle at hand." The instructor stopped, as he then turned around to Armin. He placed his hands behind back, as he looked towards Armin through narrowed eyes.

"I believe you three, will be able to achieve something other's have not... You all have your weaknesses, yet, I believe if you all stick by one another, you all will make quite a foe for the titans... You three have the potential of being a crushing enemy for the titans." The instructor spoke once more, as thought of the words he spoke next.

"This, being the reasoning in which of why, I had to test you. I wanted to see what you would do when you faced death, if you would cower, or if you would return. And I am glad to say, that you returned. Ready and willing to continue your training. So, I commend you for this." The instructor came to a conclusion, as Armin watched slightly with wide-eyes. He still was a bit jaded, as if this was reality or not...

"I personally, wish to express my own interest into your upcoming mental exam tomorrow.I hope to see tremendous results from you, as I can see you one day; being one of the most privileged ranks within the Survey Corps... So, I wish you luck cadet." The instructor began to walk away, as he stopped once more as he made his way beside Armin.

"Prove me wrong, and be a leader. Not a follower. I look forward to your results, Arlert." With that, the instructor took his leave; leaving Armin dumbfounded and frozen in his current stance...

His eyes were wide in shock, as he still had his mind currently tracing over all of the aspects of the instructor's miniature speech. His gaze dropped towards the floor, as the wind continued to blow hair around his face rapidly... Armin timidly began to let his thoughts wander...

_'Someone... Has put their confidence in me...? That's not, Eren, or Mikasa...? And out of all people, him...?' _Armin thought slowly, as he let his mind scan all of the fragments of details that now ran rampant throughout the boy's mind...

For the next hour, the boy had kept his position, in utter engulfing darkness, as he would occasionally look up towards the midnight sky, hoping the light radiating from the desolate moon would give him the answers he couldn't grasp...

* * *

><p>Armin slowly stirred, as he began to crack his eye-lids ever so gently open... He began to see the sun emanating it's glow through the windows, creating ever so timid rays of light protruding itself, as it colliding with the worn wooden floor below.<p>

Armin slowly kept his eyes slightly open, as they narrowed to the new-found rays of light that were now apparent upon his floor... He watched slowly as each small particle of dust danced within the light, before making its ultimate descent towards the floor below.

Armin gently raised his body, as he sat up and slowly rubbed his eyes. He looked around him timidly, as his room had kept quiet, and utterly vacant.

He slowly heard, as the sound of rapid footsteps, protruding from the hallway bled through his decaying walls...

Armin slowly tossed the blanket off of him, as he turned upon his bed, before hesitantly standing up. He was still feeling slightly unstable, still due to his recent awakening.

He slowly made it towards the small dresser, that only had one single outfit within it. He quickly pulled off the clothes that he wore before he had joined the military, which he now considered his pajamas, or at least the closest thing to pajamas.

He quickly put on his military dressings, as when he finished, he walked to the door. He paused for a moment, as he fully imported the events of today within his mind.

He wasn't nervous in the least about the mental exams, more about in the next two days when the physical exams would make their intimidating appearance. He let out a small sigh, before he opened the door, and was greeted by the exceedingly clustered hallway.

He watched as some recruits ran, while the other's walked. He even witnessed some practically sprinting, he supposed the mental exams stressed a great quantity of people to their very limits.

Armin slowly walked out towards the hallway, while shutting his door entirely. As he made his way into the hallway, he collided with at least four people in mere seconds. Nobody's pace was consistent, and it was chaos within the halls.

Armin quickly began to walk, as he realized it was the most able plan to quickly get out of these halls as soon as possible.

As he made his way down the halls, he quickly found the exit, as he quickly made his way to and out of it.

As he was outside, he slowly looked around as the harsh sunlight glared upon the boys features, causing his golden hair to nearly mirror the sun's color as it reflected it's harsh rays.

His eyes became ever so more blue, as they fully focused to the brightness around him, his eyes speckled and glistened as the sunlight fully embraced his entire figure.

As Armin looked around him, he saw very few cadets outside, and supposed he was early to making his appearance.

He timidly walked around outside, as the sunlight began to become cracked, as it made its way between the trees and the ever so fickle leaves that weakly hung on to their parent branches for the continuation of their life.

As he continued walking, he began to notice a smaller figure already in place for the instructor's addressing. As he made his way towards the figure, he began to feel himself become increasingly nervous at the sight of who the person was.

Annie Leondhart had been the first person to make her presence at the instructor's addressing, Armin found himself warmly smiling after being aware of her presence.

Armin nearly ran up to the girl, but recovered, and transformed it into something more of a hasty walk. He realized if the girl would have caught him running towards her, it would have only caused her dismay.

As Armin came closer, Annie noticed his presence, and her eyes instinctively narrowed as she ever so slightly turned them to look towards the figure coming up towards her.

As she realized who it was, she placed her gaze back in front of her. She was really hoping for some much needed solitude... And this was quite the opposite, as the childish blonde that for some reason wouldn't leave her be, greeted her with a warm smile before taking his place at her side as the formation was just beginning.

"H-Hey, Annie..." Armin began timidly, as he now stood beside the girl with a smile and hopeful, crystalline eyes.

Annie didn't reply, she wasn't about to engage in a conversation. Not with him, not with anybody. She instead kept her gaze focused directly in front of her, as she inwardly wished that she hadn't of come out here early.

Armin waited for a few seconds, before his smiled turned into a frown. He felt as the awkward tension began to fill the air, and nervously decided to try again, despite being somewhat discouraged by the girl's icy glare.

"S-So..." Armin spoke anything that came to mind as he looked downwards, "Are you n-nervous at all, for the-" Suddenly, Armin was cut off as his gaze turned towards the girl beside him.

"Why do you talk to me." Annie spoke harshly, as she continued her cold glare, not even attempting to look towards the boy.

"W-What..?" Armin replied hesitantly, as he looked over towards the girl with raised brows, as his crystalline blue eyes were filled in confusion.

"I said. Why do you talk to me. What thought goes through your mind, when you try and talk to me. Enlighten me._ Please._" Annie spoke sternly, as her tone turned sarcastic and threatening towards the end.

Armin thought about it for a moment as he looked towards the ground, then he resumed his smile as he looked upwards towards in front of him.

"Well... I-I thought we could be... _friends_...maybe..." Armin spoke out shakily in a near child like wonder, yet he realized how foolish his thought sounded out loud. He could nearly guess the manner in which she would respond...

_"Friends?" _She replied in near disbelief, she let her eyes glance over towards his way as she processed what he had just said. She really couldn't believe what he had just said, how old was he? How old could he have been to be so damned immature?

"Y-Yeah." Armin spoke happily, as he glanced back towards the girl, flashing her a warm smile while slightly tilting his head. Annie returned her eyes to land back in front of her once more, as she then, began her reply.

"If you joined the Trainee Corps to make friends, then you truly are an imbecile." She spoke coldly, as she still tried to wrap her mind about his concept of friendship, while the whole human race was nearly doomed by being obliterated by titans.

Armin returned his gaze towards in front of him, as he let his gaze drop downwards with a frown.

"...I suppose you're right..." Armin began quietly as he spoke in a dejected tone. He continued to stare towards the ground with slightly downhearted eyes.

Annie let her eyes glance over towards the boy, as she was surprised that her words got to him so easily. She supposed he was going to be stubborn, and be unwilling to let up on something as idiotic as this. But to her revelation, he dropped it, and just awaited the instructor.

As he did, she couldn't tell if she felt the smallest glisten of pity within her, or if it was just her imagination. She decided whatever it was, she was to have none of it, and vowed that she wouldn't let her fleeting stomach obstacles obstruct what she had joined the Trainee Corps for in the first place.

She was not about to let some hopeful misfit plague her chances of making the top ten. She needed to keep her mind on training, and nothing else. Not friendship, not people, nor anything else that didn't relate to the path she was pursuing.

Suddenly, mass chatter became more evident to the two, as swarms of cadet's began to arrive at their current position.

It mirrored the actions of the hall, as some cadet's ran, others walked, and others even jogged. But, they soon all got into their proper positions, as they all began to create the formation.

The rest of the cadets littered into their proper positions, as the instructor slowly watched as he kept a unhurried pace as he made his way towards the front of the cadets.

Armin and Annie both watched as everybody got into their correct formations, Annie keeping her cold glare, while Armin tried to dismiss the excursion that left him sorrowful, and to focus on the task at hand. Excelling at the mental test, and hopefully proving there was something useful within him...

The instructor halted, as he slowly let his gaze trot back and forth between the mass of cadets. He then, roughly spoke up.

"Today, you will be taking the fourth core mental exams. I look forward to the results, and wish you luck. It should go without saying, but if you attempt to cheat, tamper, or copy. You will discontinue your career within the military. You all may leave to your exam, now." He spoke slightly more calmly than he would have previously, as nearly all the cadet's went slightly went wide-eyed in surprise.

He then stood in silence for a moment, as he then turned around and made his leave...

The cadet's made their ways towards the exam quarters, as Armin stood for a second, still puzzled by the tone of the instructor's voice.

Armin wasn't positive... But he could have swore that the instructor had glanced at him specifically for a few seconds, while he had kept silent... Armin quickly shook his head, as he caught up with the rest of the cadet's.

It wasn't likely... But he felt as if what he saw was true... Maybe the instructor, truly did have an interest within his abilities... Yet he couldn't help but wonder...

What abilities...?

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><p><span><em><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>_

_**Hey all! :) Hope you all enjoyed this, I'm actually hoping for the next chapter to come out by tonight as well. I'm trying to keep a rapid upload pace if I can haha. :D Thanks! And I hope you enjoyed! ^_^ **_


	8. Plagiarism

_**Fear: Chapter Eight**_

_**Plagiarism**_

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><p>Armin sighed, as the long trail of cadets gathered into a single, formal, line. Armin stood behind Annie, as the large line slowly started to bleed off, as it continue to delve within the testing corridor.<p>

Slowly, he and Annie had made it towards the entrance. He was surprised how orderly the whole excursion was, compared to a few minutes ago where cadet's poured from nearly every direction.

Yet, he couldn't help but wonder how orderly it would be once they got inside, his curiosity traced over the chance that it could all relapse into chaos once more.

Yet, as he got in, it seemed that everyone knew their designated seats. Which was slightly odd, as there were no designated seats.

Armin found himself subconsciously following Annie, and hoping to find a seat close by her. As they made their way into the classroom, both Armin and Annie had found a seat close to the corner of the class room.

It annoyed Annie greatly of the boy's interest in her, she really couldn't stand his constant curious eyes trained on her. The Trainee Corps truly weren't difficult to her, but this was slightly inclining the amount of trouble that conflicted her as she got past this training course.

As she sat down, she found a new source of dismay realizing Armin was sitting in the seat directly next to her. He gave her a warm smile despite what had just happened a few minutes ago...

She wondered how somebody could ever even think to smile, during all of this. All of her smiles had been taken from her when she was young, every time she did even think to curl her lips, she would normally get a lecture from the acquaintance she knew as a father.

Though, she grew up with her father, she had never really felt close to the man. She felt as if he was her prized trophy, but that was it. She didn't feel like he ever talked to her as a person, more as he did an item.

He felt her presence was merely a consequence, merely a consequence of a night where two people could not contain their lust for one another.

Her mother passed when she was young, she really hadn't met her nor knew her. She had found out that her mother did in fact, not, die in child-birth. Which led her to speculate as she grew up, that it was her father who had caused it.

She had learned to live it, accept it. She merely felt her life was a mission, and once that mission was complete, it could end. There was no friendship, romance, nor family. There was training, then solitude, rinse and repeat.

She used to hold hopes when she was young, and be trained mercilessly by her father, that maybe, one day she could feel like a girl again. She had simply dropped this hope, as she let the darkness that consumed within her devour this blissful wish.

For the sixteen years of her life, everyone ignored her. Some people had even found out of her father's tireless methods, that nearly tortured the girl to death, yet, no one said a single word. So why now, she couldn't help but ask...

Why? Why now, had some person, some imbecile more like it, taken an interest to her? What was the point? What was the catch? The emotions that made her a human being had finally left her, so now, why was it that this wandering soul clung to her so?

It was times like this, that life seemed so ironic... As if it taunted her with its melancholy, as it never seemed she could be able to fully grasp the true meaning around it.

She couldn't even keep count nor track, of the night's that she was too afraid to sleep. Many days, where her heart felt like it was going to finally stop within her. Many prayers, for her death to come swiftly. Many tears, for no one to ever answer.

Now inside of her was hollow, left, and abandoned. So, somebody who cared couldn't have come seven years earlier? Seven years ago to when she still felt like she had the smallest amount of humanity lingering within her, able to recovered.

Recovery not wasn't an option. It was lost, she wasn't even positive what happened within her half of the times. She would stuff it all back down, when the confusion within her made a rallying cry, hoping to reform one of her humane emotions at a time.

She let out a long sigh, as she came back towards reality. Through the corner of her eye, she noticed Armin glancing at her as soon as she let out that one, single sigh. It annoyed her greatly, how he so desperately scanned the girl, and tried to read what was happening within her.

She understood he wasn't doing it out of any type of malicious intent, yet, she wasn't about to let some person she barely even knew try and find the solution of her despair.

She continued to look forward, as she hoped the damned test would get here already, she could take it, and get out of this forsaken hole.

Suddenly, the instructor came in, as he looked through the test documents within his hand. It was someone else than Shadis, yet, none of them seemed to recognize who it was.

"Hello students. Today, you will be taking your written, mental exam's . You have approximately one hour to finish the test, and I will now begin to pass out the test's. As you realize, if you attempt to take any illegal standards to approaching the test, your career within the military will be terminated entirely." The instructor spoke calmly, as he began to walk around the classroom and pass out tests. He spoke up once more, as he continued to pass out tests.

"Also, one more thing. Before we begin, we will have a guest come in and ask you all a few questions. It's more of a survey, if you will. If you do not wish to answer, or have not yet made your decision, than you do not have to. It is apart of the recent core structure changes, and the result of said changes." The instructor spoke, as he made his way towards Armin and Annie's desk.

As Armin received his test, he gave a warm smile, "Thank you, sir."

Annie inwardly scowled at the boy, what was the reason of being polite when you were practically signing up for your own death?

As the instructor made his way over, he paused after setting the test down in front of Annie, slightly hoping for the same manners he was shown from Armin. Annie instead, gave the man a death glare. Causing the man to slowly continue to pass out the tests, as he made his way to the next person.

Annie then glanced down towards the test, and found herself inwardly doubtful. Though, she was exemplary at combat, and could come up with a strategy within her mind. She really only had known basics in terms of literature, and as a child was never allowed to let herself dabble within academics nor even basic reading itself.

Not only would she have to assume some of the meanings of the words within her test, but she would also have to write things that sounded intelligent. At least, if she wanted to make the top ten that is.

The true factor that frustrated Annie, is she knew that if she had been able to learn, she could excel within the academic arts. But, her father was to damn stubborn, and any time she would even mention it in hope, he would immediately dismiss it, and deem it unnecessary.

She looked towards her right, as she saw Armin excitedly look through test, transferring all of the information it obtained towards his brain. He flipped through each page vigorously, as he held a small smile, and optimistic eyes.

She let out a small scowl, "It's not as if he's going to do well, anyways." She muttered under her breath, as she felt her irritation rise within her.

She saw through the corner of her eyes, that Armin had heard what she said ever so clearly. He decided to not gaze towards her, rather than just let his small hopeful smile, drop towards a frown. His eyes slightly lost their optimism, as he then flipped back to the first page.

She couldn't help but feel that confusion within her try to stir once more, as she immediately stuffed it back down, before she looked back towards the front of the room.

It was then that she noticed the guest had arrived, he had a small piece of paper in hand, as he read through it. He then decided to speak up, as he raised his attention from his paper in hand.

"May I have everyone's attention, please." He spoke out authoritatively, as he then glanced back at the paper once more, before he returned his gaze towards his now, listening audience.

"Due to the recent change of circumstance within the Trainee Corps, I have come here to take a short survey of you, recruits. It will be three questions, three simple questions, and if the question applies to you, raise your hand. Got it?" He cued, as he looked towards the crowd once more for a reaction.

"Yes, sir!" Many people said in unison, Armin being included in that. Annie however, kept silent.

"Okay, I will begin. How many of you plan to join the Garrison?" The man spoke up, as he looked around for the results.

He saw an average amount hands raised, as he slowly counted them. He then slightly hunched over while setting his paper down on a table below, tallying the votes. As he looked up a few times, confirming his tallies. He then stood up firmly once more.

"Alright, how many of you are planning to join Survey Corps?" He spoke up, as he looked around...

There were no hands raised, not a single one... He slowly frowned, however, upon closer inspection, he saw a single petite hand raised in the very rear, left corner of the room.

Annie eye's glanced over towards the boy sitting beside her, who now had a raised hand. Determination written on his face, which in her opinion, was empty and vacant. It wasn't true, he lied, lied about every aspiration he wish he actually did, have. Annie gently shook her head...

Armin noticed Annie's glance, and watched as her head slightly changed back and forth, but chose to ignore it... He needed to try his best and stay positive, he was already fearful, and the last thing he needed was negativity... He just needed to stay focused, focused on the goal... The goal of preserving humanity...

"Well, I can't say I am surprised by those results... Alright..." The guest began, as Armin gently let his hand drop towards his desk. The guest quickly made the mark one his paper, as he looked back up towards the group of recruits.

"Okay, let me guess, at least eighty percent for the Military Police, right?" He spoke up curiously, as he let his gaze glance around the room.

It was then, that as he said, nearly eighty percent of the classroom's hands raised. And as Armin looked towards his left, Annie's hand was included in those mass of hands, as a bored expression crossed her features like always.

"Yep... Okay, keep your hands up as I mark this." He said, as he hunched over upon the desk, and began to tally each hand. He kept his back hunched, as he tallied each and every vote, while occasionally, glancing up for more information.

Armin found himself timidly staring, as he felt his stomach sink somewhat. He wasn't sure why, but he half hoped she would join the Survey Corps as he would be joined by her company occasionally, yet also not hoping due to the fact he realized the dangers it required, and somewhat felt relief to know she would be safe.

The whole time, she had noticed him staring. It was at his continuation of staring, that she felt herself slip and her irritation seethe.

_"What?" _She spat out in agitation, as she turned her head and looked over towards the boy's forlorn eyes.

Armin suddenly jumped in his chair, "N-Nothing...! S-Sorry..." He said as he refocused, and returned his gaze to the test at hand... He had found himself lost in thought of the girl's future, hoping that it wouldn't be filled with same anguish that other humans had recently endured due to the titan threat...

"Okay," The guest straightened himself, as he took his piece of paper. "I thank you for your time, and good luck on your tests." He said, as he left the corridor while his gaze focused on the paper's in hand. He then walked out, as he shut the door softly behind him.

Armin noticed now that the instructor was once more standing in front of the room, waiting patiently as he looked towards the students.

"Alright. You may all start your tests. Good luck." The figure spoke with authority, as he sat on his chair, before deepening himself within it. He then began to go through documents upon his desk.

Armin eagerly picked up his supplied pencil upon the table, he signed his name quickly, and he quickly opened to page one. He had read the questions already, and was practically read to answer all of them. Yet, he found himself hesitating... He saw something unsettling as he found his eyes glance cautiously to the side...

He saw Annie, and noticed how awkward she had looked with the pencil in hand. She looked so uncomfortable as she looked towards the test, and it bothered Armin.

Armin then patiently pretended to work on his test, yet he didn't draw a single word, nor numerical value. As he continued to find himself nervously glancing towards the visibly tensing Annie.

It was then, that he awaited her first words... He pretended to be staring at his test the whole time, yet, he would bring his hand up to scratch his head, and that's when he would peek through the cracks in between his fingers.

He winced as she drew her first words, and saw as her letters were rough, disproportionate, and visibly challenging. They were not the most easy things to read, and Armin saw within Annie's eyes, as they slowly gained in frustration with each mistake. Armin frowned woefully, as his eyes grew with sympathy for the girl.

He then realized the pace at her handwriting continued at, it was quite sluggish. She tried her best to improve the structure of each letter, after failing the previous. He realized, she wasn't going to finish a thirty page test within an hour... There was no chance.

This wasn't going to do, it simply couldn't do. Armin felt himself inwardly panic, as he considered the situation.

_'She needs the to make it within the top ten for the goal she wants to achieve... The mental, and physical exams are scored evenly... If she doesn't do well on this, it will drastically cripple any chance she has of making it...' _Armin thought nervously to himself, as he felt his stomach seek as he felt each second, slowly pass by.

He needed to do something, as suddenly, an idea crossed his mind.

He quickly scanned the girl, as her paced continued to slow. He flipped back to the beginning page, as he erased his name... He then wrote...

_'Annie Leondhart.'_

He quickly flipped to page one, as he hadn't began his work yet. Relief ran rampant in him, as he summarized a plan within his mind. He then glanced towards Annie, and memorized her writing, as he slowly found himself ripping a piece of paper off of the clear part of the test...

He then looked for the person of interest, and saw that the person he needed was sitting far enough away from him that the paper itself was not going to make it.

He quickly scribbled his words down on the paper, before pausing while thinking, then scribbling more. He then stabbed it with one of the three supplied pencils. He was careful not to stab where he wrote, as he wrapped the paper around the pencil.

He then returned his glare towards the person of his interest, who was sitting at a ten o'clock angle from him a few tables ahead. He then held the bottom of the pencil with his index finger, and thumb. As he then cocked the top of the pencil backwards, as the index finger of his other hand clung onto the eraser... He then let out a long and nervous inward sigh.

_'This is going to be risky... And I might get terminated due to it... But, I can't just let this happen... ' _Armin thought to himself, as he glanced once more over at the still struggling Annie. Upon seeing her, her narrowed his gaze with determination, as it went back to the person of interest. He raised his arms, as the pencil was ready deploy within his hands.

_'I've got to take the risk...' _Armin thought adamantly.

He then shot the pencil from his hand, going directly into the person's direction at a rapid face as it flipped tirelessly through the air. Suddenly, it had made it's destination, as it collided with the back of a brown pony-tail.

"Ow!" Sasha yelped, as she began to rub her head... "What the hell was that...?" She mumbled irritably. The other cadet's looked up to see what that was, along with the instructor himself.

This had caught Annie's attention, as she looked over towards Armin with narrowed eyes.

"What the hell was that?" She spat quietly, as she looked towards the boy in both irritation, and confusion.

Armin timidly rubbed the back of his head, as he gave a nervous shrug, smile, and chuckle.

Sasha hunched over, and looked towards the floor, as her head was now under her table. She saw a pencil, that was wrapped in paper... She then read the outside of the paper.

_When they ask what was thrown, bring up the pencil, and show the class please._

Her eye's widened, as she stared at it for a moment. While hunched down under her table, she looked from the direction in which where she felt the pain... As she looked back, she saw a familiar face...

She saw Armin, the boy she had met yesterday... And as she looked towards his eyes, she saw them staring desperately in her direction. She had come to the conclusion, that he had thrown the pencil...

"That asshole..." She muttered quietly as she continued to look at the boy with narrowed eyes.

It was then, that the question was asked.

"Pony-tail girl... What was that?" The instructor finally asked, as he continued to glare curiously towards Sasha direction.

Sasha quickly pulled the pencil from the paper, as she sat up. She then gave a stern look towards the instructor.

"It was a pencil, sir." She said as she held up the pencil, so the whole classroom could see. Some of the cadets could have sworn they saw white, but shrugged it off.

"From who?" The instructor asked sternly, as suddenly Armin stood up from his chair.

"It was from me, sir!" Armin said, as he stood up firmly. As he held an uncharacteristic, confident gaze. The instructor looked towards Armin, as he then, narrowed his eyes.

"And why did you throw that?" He spoke firmly, as irritation grew in his voice.

"Because, sir - Sasha gave me a Wet Willie earlier. It was really gross. I wanted to get her back, and hoped that the pencil would go undetected." Armin lied, as he felt nervous sweat beads arrive around his forehead, he hoped his story would hold up...

The instructor stared at him suspiciously from a moment, as he continued to narrow his eyes furthermore. He then suspiciously began once more...

"Very well... But, this isn't the place for pranks! Get back to work! And if you do it again, it'll be immediate failure!" The instructor spoke sternly, as Armin inwardly sighed in relief.

"Of course, sir! You have my sincerest apologies, as well as Sasha, for interrupting the test, sir!" Armin chimed out, as he hastily sat back in his seat, he felt as gazes were focused towards him from every angle. He made sure not to do anything suspicious, as he hastily picked another of his two remaining pencils, and began scribbling away at the test. He was confident he would only need one pencil for the test anyways.

It was then, that Sasha hesitated for a moment. She waited for everyone's glances to be off of her, while she pretended to start working on the test...

As she did, she noticed people's glares dropping off of her, one by one. As she they did, and when she felt safe... She didn't hunch over again, yet simply just reach under the table with her right hand gripping the paper.

As she picked up the paper, she placed it in her lap under the table, so nobody could see the paper nor words upon it.

She acted as if she were glaring at her test, while she was glaring at the paper within her lap. She read a corner of the outside of the paper, she figured Armin had mapped out within his mind how to form the paper so that she could properly read it, while it would properly instruct her. He this, while having the paper remaining crumpled for size reasons.

_Awesome! Thank you so much! You're doing great so far, flip the paper to the other side._

Sasha did as told, as she slowly flipped the paper, while un-crumpling it. She then straightened it, and found herself curious of what scheme Armin had thought up.

_Alright Sasha, I need you to do me a favor. A HUGE favor._

_Alright, here it is._

_I'm assuming, that by the end of the hour when the testing is up, that the instructor is going to walk around and gather papers. The reason I believe this, is every time we have small practice quizzes, he's done that, as well as giving us a lecture afterwards. _

_Anyways, when the instructor come's to my desk, I'm going to flip the pages from his hand, I'm hoping they will scatter everywhere. When I do this, I need you to come up and distract the instructor. Do anything, anything you think that will work. _

_I'm asking for your assistance, at my very, very, very, please. I ask you please to help me on this. I will buy you, whatever type of food you want. I promise. I'll even give you all of the money I have to go buy whatever type you want. _

_Thank you... I really appreciate it._

_-Armin_

Sasha looked up, as she smiled at the thought...

_'Any type of food I want...Huh?' _

Sasha found herself intrigued at the thought, however, she quickly regretted letting her gaze go upwards however...

As suddenly, the paper was snatched out of her lap by someone sitting to her left. She jumped, as she looked towards her left.

"Hey!" She yelped while keeping it muffled, she frowned upon seeing who the person was.

It was a man, known none other than Daz. A man who claimed to undertake a great deal of physical training within the snowy mountains, yet, it never seemed to show. As it never did, the man began to delve in between conduct and did whatever it took for his own security, and well being.

As Daz read it, a smile crossed his face. As Sasha saw it, she realized it was quite an unnerving sinister smile, as she hoped she didn't fumble Armin's plan... She frowned, as her eyes widened...

"Please, Daz..." She began nervously while keeping her tone quiet, as she hoped the man would be understanding... Yet, she realized it to be a wishful hope.

"Well, well." Daz spoke near silently, "Doing tasks for Armin now, are you?" Daz spoke mockingly, as he crumpled the paper, and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Please Daz, don't tell anyone..." Sasha began timidly, as she tried to return her gaze back towards her test, and felt unease rapidly run inside her... She realized her pleas would go unanswered, and would only arouse suspicion... So, she chose to keep mute, as she began to work on her test, she felt as her insides felt as if they were being strangled with anxiety...

_'I really screwed up...' _Sasha thought fearfully to herself, as she was unable to focus herself on the question the test presented, though her gaze was planted firmly upon it.

She was still going to go through with the plan, she just had to tell Armin about this mishap...

This very _scary, _mishap.

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><p><span><em><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>_

_**Hey all! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! ^_^ I finally got Armin using that wit of his :D. I thought this chapter came out pretty interesting! ^_^ And I hope that you enjoyed as well! Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Thanks again! ^_^**_

_**Thanks! ^_^**_


	9. Vexation

_**Fear: Chapter Nine**_

_**Vexation**_

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><p>Armin continued to work on his test slowly, as he occasionally would lift his hand, peer between his fingers, and look towards Annie's test.<p>

He continued to memorize her writing, he looked at every timid mistake, every miniature curve, every small characteristic, and every microscopic angle. He let out a small inward sigh as he dropped his hand.

He didn't want to do this, no, not in the least. He desperately wanted to do everything the normal, and politically just way. Yet, he couldn't. His conscious wouldn't let him do so.

Though, his conscious always spoke to not break the rules, he had little choice in this. Armin didn't mean to sound like a pessimist, but he knew that Annie was going to have little of a chance to succeed in the mental exam with the pace this was going.

As he continued within the test, it luckily had only been roughly fifteen minutes, and he was already about sixty percent complete. He most likely would have been done faster, if the situation itself hadn't restricted it.

He felt sympathetic towards the girl who sat beside him, thought she hid it, the brief moment that she looked towards his direction, he saw the frustration, agitation, and overall exasperation, that laid within her eyes.

And, sadly, he knew eventually Annie would felt out. She was clever, and even without something obvious to her, it's going to take a small quantity of time for her to complete the puzzle.

As Armin scribbled, it had now been roughly twenty minutes, and he was about seventy percent done. He was going at a rapid pace after memorizing all the patterns, of letters, and numerical values that the girl wrote.

And as the clock slowly ticked away, he felt his chest continue to fill with both worry, and doubt.

The issue was, is that Armin would have to sacrifice his own test in the process. Not get a bad grade, but sacrifice the test itself entirely.

He would have to submit the test he worked on, that was going to be hers, take the one that she resumed working on when the time came to it, keep it hidden, and then destroy it entirely.

Eventually, and it won't take long, the people who marked the test would realize his test wasn't in there. As soon as that happens, suspicions will vastly arise. And when that time comes, he'll make sure he comes up with a plan then as well.

He had doubts within himself that the fourth core would be willing to re-test him, and he had doubts that he would remain in the military itself. It saddened him greatly, as he realized he would be separated from Eren and Mikasa.

It was a high hope that the military would be nice enough to test him once more, while dismissing suspicions of what had happened with the previous test.

But one thought reassured him, that thought being...

_'She'll make it into the Military Police for certain... She'll be safe, within Wall Sina... For however long Wall Rose holds up, at least...' _He thought inwardly, as he paused working on his test, before continuing.

He looked up towards the clock, as thirty minutes were left, and he was about ninety percent done.

_'Very good...' _He thought idly, as he continued to quickly scribble down answers...

He paced himself in between each question, to review the previous and ensure that each and every letter were in match with Annie's.

As he finished another answer, his mind thought to the afterlife... More specifically, his grandfather...

Armin frowned with woeful eyes, as he realized his grandfather would disapprove of his tactics greatly, and is most likely looking down upon him from the heavens...

Armin made a mental note, in which as he got to his small secluded room, to pull out his grandfather's hat, and pray into it, until he passed out from exhaustion...

As he looked downwards, he was one the final answer...

He let out a long, remorseful, inward sigh, before he began to scribble down the answer. He then let his pencil fall onto the desk upon completion, as he looked over the answer carefully... As soon as he clarified that everything with it was intact, he closed the test.

_'There... A tampered test, completed entirely... Now, just for phase two, and she should achieve the top ten...' _Armin inwardly thought, as he crossed his arms upon the table, while looking down towards the table itself...

He found himself memorized by all the cracks, scrapes, cuts, and chips, as he found his soul wandering for ratification...

In the matter of minutes, he dropped his morals, his ethics, and his values, all to ensure safety for somebody who didn't even consider him a friend... And he couldn't help but ask himself inwardly...

_'Was it worth it...?' _

He felt as if his insides were corrupt, he felt as guilt began to swarm his insides, he felt as remorse punched him in the gut tirelessly.

This was all such a chance, and it was such a massive chance as well. There was no guarantee it was going to work, and with it, he could also destroy any future for Annie unintentionally within the military career.

If they did find out, he would try his very best to ensure her resumption of her military career, as she truthfully had no part within this whole scheme.

It was time's like this, where he found himself just wanting to run away...

Run away, from everything, his life, his friends, his morals, the hat that remained of his family, and his career entirely... He found himself rapidly panic inwardly, as he hoped to subdue as much as possible, and hoping that it didn't bleed through within his eye's.

_'Perhaps this is what my life was...meant for... A stepping stone, for someone else... A stepping stone, for someone else's well being, and security...' _Armin though with sorrow, as he looked up at the clock slowly...

Only ten minutes remained, and he felt himself rapidly tense up as he felt himself timidly swallow the imagery that had been choking him.

The girl who sat beside him seemed so cold, so empty, so hollow... She seemed utterly empty, without any of the emotions he had whatsoever. She seemed entirely mystical, entirely forlorn, and entirely abandoned...

_'Maybe... Maybe, once she is in Wall Sina... She'll smile again... I've never seen her smile to this day... But... I have a feeling it's a very beautiful smile... One that can light the world...' _Armin find himself in his thoughts, as he felt himself slightly mesmerized by the girl beside him, though, he wasn't even looking in her direction. He gave a timid smile thinking about her, as his slowly grew in hope.

_'She'll find her career... Her life... Her home... Her happiness... Her family... And-...' _Armin found himself hesitating before thinking the final part of his thought... His smile dropped into an unsecure frown, as his eyes grew woeful... He sat for a moment with his thoughts silenced, before he continued.

_'...-she'll find... the one... she loves...' _Armin concluded his thoughts, as he felt his frown deepen, and felt the inside's of him become slightly more hollow...

"Alright, testing time is up." He heard the instructor announce, as he slowly stood from his seat.

Armin gently shook his head to pull himself back towards reality. He then, took a deep breath, as he proceeded with his stratagem.

He mentally relaxed, as he saw the teacher begin to walk around the room. Upon seeing this, the other cadet's remained in their seat, prepared to hand the instructor their test.

Armin didn't see, but he could feel the aura of Annie's frustration, and worry. He gently bit his lip, as he felt saddened by seeing the girl within that state.

Armin saw as the instructor slowly made his way closer to Sasha's position, he was taking the reversed route of how he handed out the quizzes like always. Armin felt some relief, as he let out an inward sigh. He saw as Sasha handed him her test.

_'Everything is going well so far...' _He concluded within his mind, as he looked toward the still approaching instructor.

He watched as he made his way closer to the furthest table, in which where both Annie, and he, sat.

He watched as he then, made his way to the furthest table, and saw as Sasha looked towards his direction. She awaited for the instructor to go further in Armin's direction, as she readied her muscles to act.

As the instructor made it to Annie, Armin felt his heart pound rapidly. Yet, as Armin looked towards his left, it was then, that he saw the true disappointment that were written over Annie's features as she handed the man her test... He knew he had to act, as the instructor made his way over to his desk.

Armin then stood up, as he put his plan into action...

As his instructor awaited his test, Armin opened his test, turned it, and brought it close to the instructor's face...

"Hey, sir, I believe there is a few typing mistakes on the question given..." Armin began slowly, as he awaited the instructor's reaction.

"What? Where?" The instructor began curiously, Armin inwardly smiled, his curiosity had won Armin the battle.

It was then, that Armin feigned tripping, and with his left hand, upper-cutted the test into nearly every visible direction.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Armin chimed in false panic, as he continued falling to the ground. The instructor watched with wide-eyes as the tests flew from the sky, beginning to collide with the floor.

And it was then, that Sasha made her move.

"Hey, instructor! Give me a _hug!" _Sasha yelled happily, as she ran towards the instructor's direction from her chair, and jumped on the instructor, hugging him. The cadet's eyes traced over Sasha and the instructor in disbelief, wondering what exactly was going on...

Armin watched, as Annie's test had luckily, fallen under the table, removing him from the gaze of other cadets, as the front area where usually the feet were located was sealed off with another continuous wood material.

Armin quickly made his way to the ground with a thud, as he completed the false trip and fall. He then, quickly looked for the test under his table, where many of the tests had landed.

He quickly looked through the names, as he then found it.

_Annie Leondhart, _written in a extraordinarily rough hand writing appearance.

He quickly folded, and shoved the test within the inside of his jacket. The test was subdued within a large pocket within the right of his jacket, as he closed his jacket, and made sure there was no noticeable bulge within his right garments.

As he did, it all looked very nicely intact. He then threw his test, into the mass pile with Annie's name written on it. He then neatly stacked the tests that were under his desk, as he collided the bottoms of the tests on the ground below, straightening them entirely. He then stood up from behind his desk, as he felt Annie's eyes narrowed on him.

Luckily, Armin had not only held his back to Annie while making the swap, but also flung multiple tests in her direction, landing in multiple places upon her desk and body.

As looked back towards any, he saw a characteristic scowl cross her features. Though her eyes held a bit more emotion with disappointment, she kept her usual attitude.

_'Good. She didn't see.' _Armin mentally chimed, as he looked up towards the man and made his excuse.

"Sorry, sir! I'm a bit clumsy today!" Armin said with false timidity, a small smile, a chuckle, while he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Sasha let the instructor go, as she stood by the instructor, unsure of what to do next. She felt as many cadet's gazed in their direction, as she looked back towards her table, and saw Daz giving her a sinister smile.

"Damn it cadets, what the hell was that! Pick these all up, now! Both of you!" The instructor yelled in irritation, as he narrowed his gaze harshly at Armin, while Sasha came into view.

"Right! Sorry again, sir." Armin said with false remorse, fear, unease, and a timid frown. Yet, inwardly, he held quite the joyful and relieved smile.

Armin kept the tests in his arm, he wasn't foolish enough to place the tests back on the desk just yet, and just in case the instructor would look through them, he would realize Armin's name wasn't there.

Both Armin and Sasha kneeled down as they quickly picked up the tests, bring them within their arms, and quickly stacking them neatly. The commander watched them thoroughly, as they gathered to the very last of the tests.

They quickly stood back up, as they handed the tests back to the instructor, Armin continued to pretend false intimidation, while Sasha just merely stood there awkwardly. Armin hoped that it wouldn't arouse to much suspicion.

"That's all the tests sir, including mine as well." Armin stated through false worry, as both him and Sasha were thoroughly examined by the instructor's gaze...

Armin felt his insides tensing up, he hoped that the man wouldn't check the tests right here... That would utterly crush, everything Armin had planned out... A long diverse plan, with many weaknesses... But, he realized he had to improvise something, and it was the best he had.

The instructor continued to suspiciously glare towards Armin and Sasha, luckily, Sasha held up her composure, making it near impossible for the instructor to realize of the tampering Armin had concluded.

"Very well... And I hate hugging, so don't hug me again! Take your damned seats..." He seethed irritably, as he turned, and walked away from Sasha and Armin, leaving the two feeling successful and relieved. Though, what they did was technically a crime within the military, it was still success... Just not the most enthralling success.

Both Armin, and Sasha went back to their seats. And Armin mentally sighed in relief, as Sasha did as well. The two sat back in their chairs, and sat patiently, as they awaited the final lecture from the instructor.

* * *

><p><em><span><strong>Later...<strong>_

* * *

><p>Cadets rapidly dispersed from the corridor, as they walked in every conceivable direction. It was going to be lunch soon, yet as Armin walked out, he didn't feel hungry in the slightest after what he had just done.<p>

He felt guilty for many reasons, he made Sasha an accessory to a crime, he had tampered with Annie's true test, and he just most likely doomed whatever future he had within the military permanently, if not Annie's herself on accident.

Armin was going to take a quick walk, before the cadets were called to lunch. He was going to give his lunch anyways to Sasha as an extra thank you, for her assistance.

Suddenly while walking, Armin felt a hand on his shoulder, and as he looked over, it was somebody he hadn't met before... It was a taller man, who had short spiky hair, and quite a greedy smirk upon his face...

Armin's stomach dropped, as he had no idea who this man was, but the look on his face told him whatever it was, was going to be something that only made everything that much more complicated. Armin timidly spoke up...

"Ummm... H-Hi..." Armin began in confusion, as the two continued walking out of distance from the other cadet's. Armin felt his insides churn nervously, as he sensed this related to what he had just done...

"Hello there, how are you on this, _fine, fine, _day?" The man spoke with an all knowing tone, as he continued to give Armin a smirk that showed his teeth.

It was then, that Armin had realized something had gone wrong. He had no idea of what, nor how, but something hit a road block. And he had no idea of who this man was, yet, the man's posture screamed everything that wasn't innocence.

"I-I'm a-alright..." Armin began timidly, as he still walked as the man matched his pace, while hunching over to meet Armin's height while talking closely to the boy.

"Well, you should be. After all, that was quite the_ stunt _you pulled off back there." The man spoke in an ominous tone, causing Armin to freeze... Armin then turned his head to glance at the man, and look towards his eyes in fear... The man smirked deeper, as he realized he had put Armin in check mate...

"But don't worry... I'm not going to tell..." The man began once more, with a menacing tone, as Armin felt extremely uncomfortable, and felt like his heart was going to stop at any nearing second.

"At least, if we're willing to come to a _compromise, _that is." The man continued as his voice seethed pleasure, as he realized he now had Armin on the run.

Armin felt himself at a loss for words... "C-C-Compromise...?" Armin replied hesitantly, as he looked toward the man. He felt completely stiff, and for once in his life, his mind felt blank...

"Yeah, you know... Like, you obtain possessions on the list I give you, and I keep your information on the down low. Does that sound good with you?" The man spoke quietly, while keeping his infamous greedy voice seething with negative intentions.

Armin froze, as he didn't know what to say, nor do. He felt himself inwardly panic, as he came at a loss for words... Suddenly, Armin winced, as the man began to strongly grasp Armin's shoulder.

"Unless, you have a problem with that... But, I don't think you would. Would you?" The man spoke in a threatening tone, and it was then, that Armin realized that the man didn't even have to know his plan to fumble everything. He just had to point the instructors into the general direction, and everything would break and crumble beneath him.

Armin, hesitated, but through it all, he shook his head... As much as he didn't want to, he had to...

"Good. Then I believe we have an understanding. I'll give you a day to you know, understand your new predicaments, but you start working for me tomorrow... So, enjoy your free day while it lasts." The man chimed cynically, as he patted Armin's shoulder before making his departure.

It was then that Armin stood, and was frozen within his position... He felt as wind blew his garments around, as his hair flew rapidly around his face...

* * *

><p><em><span><strong>Later...<strong>_

* * *

><p>Annie sighed, she really didn't want to do this. Especially, from <em>him, <em>of all people. Yet, she realized she had to... Today, she found herself feeling helpless for the first time since she was merely a child... She had no intention of wishing to replicate that action.

She realized she'd have to start have a greater knowledge sooner as well, as she realized that though, her pride screamed at her never to ask anyone for help...

She couldn't determine rather or not that this was her asking him for help, or her manipulating him. She liked to think it leaned more in the manipulation category, as she felt she was like any other weakling asking for help.

She slowly walked down the boy's corridor hallway. It was required that the two genders be separated, for obvious reasons. Technically, it was illegal for her to be going in here, especially due to the fact the dusk had already bled it's colors.

However, when cadets saw her walking down the hall, they were smart enough to not tell an instructor, nor holler at the girl... The girl seethed fear into many of the cadets, who were unlucky enough to land in her presence.

Luckily, she had seen that Sasha girl hanging around Armin after the test. Annie didn't listen to the specifics of the conversation, but it seemed that they knew each other decently. And luckily, she knew which number room he slumbered in. Sasha had seemed timid, nervous, and awkward when Annie asked her. As usually, she was much more upbeat and drooling about some delectable.

But, she ignored that, her goal was to understand things she hadn't before. She wasn't going to title it as learning, cause technically, she knew all these things. She just required somebody to show her how to transfer it properly on paper.

Though, it was a longshot, the way the boy went through his test beside her was at an alarming rate. And as he looked at it, she could have sworn she saw his eyes sparkle in delight. So, she assumed she had some infatuation with learning.

And if he didn't, well, it was worth a shot. She also assumed he was smarter than to talk to anyone about it, or else she would assure he wouldn't be waking up the next morning of whatever day he spoke about it.

She continued walking by confused cadets as she counted the rooms within her mind.

_'117... 118... 119... and, 120. This is the imbecile's room.' _Annie thought irritably, wondering if she should turn away and just find another source to learn it from.

She felt that if she were to ask an instructor, that it would cripple her chances or any chance she had left of making the top ten. Which she now felt like, was horribly crippled after today's events...

Though she kept her composure outwardly, inwardly she was filled with panic. Not about confronting Armin... The fact that she may not make the top ten... Her whole mission would nearly go up in flames then.

She found herself standing in front of Armin's door, staring at it. Other cadet's continued to walk past her, while gazing in her direction and wondering why her presence was even happening to begin with.

She assumed the boy was somewhat intelligent by how he acted around the test, and to be honest, she was the only person she really knew at the moment around here. And she had no other choices.

She sighed, as she placed her hand on the door knob gently...

_'If he has any wits, he won't be doing something stupid or weird when I open this door. I'm not knocking.' _Annie seethed inwardly, she wasn't sure why, but she felt herself getting ever more angry with each passing second having to even come to this boy in the first place.

She then, quickly opened the door, and the sight she saw was something she wasn't prepared for... Her eye's widened...

The boy looked up to her from his knees, as tears poured from his eyes. His knees were up against his chest as he sat on the floor by his bed. He held a small rugged brown hat in one of his hands, as his other hand rested freely in the air, as his arms were crossed while resting upon his knees.

The two sat there in silence, awkwardly staring at each other as Armin froze entirely after realizing it was her... Sure, he would have froze if it were anybody coming in during this, but she specifically added that much more to it.

"I can come back later... If this isn't a good time..." She found herself saying softly, as she felt the confusion emotion known as sympathy, swarm within her. She began to turn to leave, however Armin halted her.

"N-No! I m-mean..." Armin paused, as he used his free hand to wipe away some of his tears, he then looked towards the girl with woeful eyes... He was slightly confused how the girl found his room, but ignored it.

"P-Please stay, w-what is it you...need?" He spoke out through whimpering stutters, as he tried his best to recover. His eyes still were filled with grief, as he tried to avoid her gaze after halting her.

Annie hesitated, as she turned once more to face Armin. She then, closed the door behind her, as she walked towards in front of Armin. She then, took a seat on the floor, while maintaining her distance from the boy.

As she got herself comfortable, while sitting with her legs crossed, she spoke to the boy.

"I saw you when we were testing, and it seemed that you were going at a good pace. And, I was hoping..." Annie felt herself slightly choke on her words as her eyes narrowed, this wasn't quite the easiest thing she has done. Armin eyes slowly widened at the mention of the test, yet she kept her gaze focused on the ground, as she didn't notice.

"I was hoping, you... If you aren't a complete useless imbecile that is; could assist me, and show me how exactly you transfer ideas of your mind on to paper." She spoke authoritatively, as she asked it in the best way she thought she was able to, while maintaining her pride.

Armin slowly puzzled the question together, as he understood what she was asking...

_'She's asking for academic help...' _Armin concluded within her mind, though his suspicions arose quickly around that topic when she brought up the testing in the very first place. Then, that's when Armin felt his guilt choke him, and realized... She wasn't going to like the answer...

He simply couldn't, not until she knew of what he did... It didn't feel right, it felt as if he were decimating the girl's work, while then taunting her if he were to teach her this... He had to come clean... This had been eating away at the inside of him all day... And it was better for her to learn here, rather than be shocked when an instructor hands her the results.

As when Armin disposed of her test, a page unintentionally flipped open, and when it did, he noticed that it was only about sixty percent through the test, and the answer column had been blank... So he assumed she had only gotten up to that specific part with her own answers, and she'd know from the test results, that the test submitted was not hers... And he realized after a small amount of time, that her future conclusions would deem him as being the main culprit. Armin began to address Annie as he slowly looked towards her with a remorseful expression.

"A-Annie... I'd love to...B-But..." He trailed off nervously, bowing his head. He felt words getting stuck in his throat... This would have been awful doing this to anyone, but it was extraordinarily terrifying doing this to her...

"What?" She interjected noticed his tone drop, "For all the times you keep stalking me, and won't leave me alone for a second; you're about to tell me, that you _can't_ assist me?" She spat in irritation, as she felt herself seethe, she quickly regretted going through with this idea.

"I-It's not that!... I... I j-just... I..." Armin felt his voice disappear from him, as the words clung in his throat, holding on for dear life, and never to be said. His eyes remained focused on the floor, as he tried to recover, but felt as if he were unable...

Annie began to narrow her gaze suspiciously, as something wasn't right... "Armin, whatever it is, tell me. _Now._" She demanded, as her tone turned threatening. She looked towards the boy, who slowly began to quiver nervously. His reactions were only increasing her suspicions, as she deemed her gut was correct on this one.

"I-I, um... It's j-just something... that-" The boy was cut off, as suddenly Annie stood up, and began to walk towards the boy. She stopped as she was merely a foot away, and hovered over the boy with a threatening look... Armin timidly looked up towards the girl, as he felt his inward panics intensify.

"Armin. Tell me. I don't care what it is, answer the damn question." She spat towards the boy, as she looked down upon the boy... It was then, that the boy's eyes began to water, as he felt his secrets leak out...

"A-Annie... I'm _s-so, s-so, _sorry... P-Please forgive what I've done... I..." He trailed off, as tears began to trail down his cheeks, while his head bowed once more... He hesitated again, and it infuriated Annie beyond belief.

She slowly took her foot, brought it gently up, as it touched the boy's jaw. She continued to raise her foot afterwards, as it raised the boy's face, and his gaze back up to her's. She kept it in place, as she once again asked.

"What did you _do_?" She asked a bit more softly this time with narrowed eyes, as tears continued to pour from the boy's eyes... He finally choked the words out...

"I _c-cheated...! _O-On your test... I-I c-cheated for _you!" _The boy cried out, as he closed his eyes, and let his sobs overwhelm him... Annie's eyes widened in shock, as she couldn't yet fully grasp what the boy meant.

"W-What?! How?!" She spat angrily, as she now slammed her foot back towards the floor, as her posture grew aggressive. She felt her teeth gritting within her mouth instinctively.

"I-I s-swapped our_ t-tests_!" The boy yelped out once more through tears, as Annie's eyes were filled with rage and confusion, it was then that she thought back to the exam corridor... Her eyes slowly continued to widen... She had came to a sinister realization. She began to mentally contemplate all of the information.

_'Those glances... When he looked towards me, and thought I didn't see... He was glaring at my work...?' _ Shock began to raise within her...

_'The pencil... The class interruption... The hug... The trip... These were... All apart of his plan... It was during the trip... that, he swapped the tests...' _Her eyes were wide in shock, as she felt herself froze... It was then, that the shock she had possessed, turned into an infinite amount of rage.

She slowly stood, as she gritted her hands, and seethed visibly... Her bangs covered her eyes, as felt her figure shake with vexation...

It was then, that all her restraints broke loose... As she began suddenly still, and her shaking halted entirely...

There was a long silence within the room, as tears continued to pour from Armin's eyes, and he tried to stifle his cries... He slowly looked up towards the figure in front of him... As he looked towards her face, is when Armin felt himself froze...

He had never felt so much fear at one time before...

Armin was stuck in her terrifying gaze, as suddenly, the girl in front of him raised her leg, backwards, as she froze for a second...

It was then, that a loud thud was heard throughout the massive corridor...

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>_

_**Hey all! Hope you enjoyed! ^_^ Thanks again for the reading, reviews, follows and favorites! ^_^ They mean a ton! Thanks again! I hope you enjoyed!**_

_**Also quick note, when I post the next chapter. I will be transferring this story to the Shingeki No Kyojin (I'm hoping that's how you spell it) topic, as I am not sure why they split it into two separate topics. I just wanted to give you a heads up. ^_^ Thanks for your understanding! And thanks for everything once more! ^_^**_


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